Xmen 2: Xmen united
by Beautiful Storm Munroe
Summary: X-2 my style. Still a work-in-progress.
1. Interlude

_He drove by another patch of trees with his claw marks on them, but this time about ten of them were marked. He pulled the motorcycle to the side of the road by the trees and cut the engine, staring at the marks curiously. Inside, it felt like he was going in the right direction, so he got off the bike, grabbed his backpack and started trudging through the snow. The forest wasn't too terribly dense, and it only took five minutes of walking for him to finally break free of the trees._

_Then he got a view of the lake. He was on the beach and had a very clear view, but he didn't see anything resembling a military base, abandoned or otherwise. Mountains on one side, forest on the other side, and an ice cold lake water in the middle. He shrugged, turning right and continuing his hike. If he kept going and saw nothing for twenty minutes, he'd just turn around and try the other way. And if not… Well, he had a map for a reason, and though he occasionally enjoyed getting lost, he wasn't too proud to use it._

_But after another five minutes of walking, he began to spot barbed wire fencing. And then he saw the dam. He took out a cigar and lit it, puffing lightly and savoring his victory. Xavier had said that the base was in the dam, and he'd found the dam. Now he just had to find a way inside. He continued on his hike and arrived at the entrance of the base in less than half an hour._

_A white wolf stood in front of the large, rotting wooden doors of the entrance like a guard and Logan stilled the moment he saw it. He didn't feel like killing the animal, but if he had a sudden threatening move, it would attack and he'd have no choice. However, if it got his scent then it would probably run away on it's own. Logan knew that he had the scent and look of a predator, and sure enough, it caught his scent and its ears fell back apprehensively as it trotted into the entrance._

_The place looked completely abandoned, even from the outside. Logan slowly walked forward and looked at the plank on the side of the entrance. 'Alkali Lake Industrial Complex.' This had to be it. While all the other 'memories' he'd chased had felt like mild déjà vu, he truly felt like he knew this place, like he'd been here._

_But walking through the rotted doors he was met with the ultimate disappointment; a clearing of snow and rubble._

_Nothing._

_Absolutely nothing._

_Another dead end._

_Logan closed his eyes in defeat and growled in annoyance. What the hell was he supposed to do now? He'd have to go back to Xavier and get the old man to read his mind again, because there was nothing for him to find here. He knew he'd been here – the marks on the trees proved it – but there was nothing for him to search for here._

_Besides, he was willing to admit that he wouldn't mind seeing Marie again. Or Jean._

_He took one last look around him before tossing his cigar and turning around, jogging back to the motorcycle to blow off some steam. Maybe, if he was still a little heated, he'd stop by the Lion's Den Bar. It was only four hours away. A cold beer and a good fight sounds pretty damn good right about now, he thought with a smirk._

_But after that, he was off to Westchester. He'd only been gone for a month and a half, but it was time to go home._


	2. Chapter 2

"Neanderthals," Ororo Munroe- Storm- said to her students at the museum. " We once believed that they were wiped out by a much more advanced branch of humanity called Cro-Magnon man. But, recent research into our own DNA has shown that these two species may have interbred and evolved into modern humans. In others words they evolved into what?"

"Us," the students replied.

"Us," Storm repeated. "Right." She looked up and saw one of the younger students stick his forked tongue out at a young girl. "Artie!" she called. Artie immediately brought his tongue back in and looked at her. "Not here."

Ashley- Hawk- another student, who had just turned thirteen and whom Storm was closer to then most others, giggled. Usually she was the trouble maker at the Institute. For once it wasn't her Storm had to warn. Storm looked at her, and she stopped immediately. "Sorry."

XX

"Hey!" Storm called. "Have you guys seen Bobby and Rogue?"

"Where's Hawk?" Scott asked. It was rare, unless they were at the mansion, to see Storm without her.

"Behin-" Storm began as she turned, only to see no one behind her. "Where- I 'm going to fry her."

"Something's happening in the food court."

XX

Hawk appeared just as the boy's sleeve caught fire, and helped Bobby put it out. Suddenly, everyone just froze. "Bobby, what did you do?" Rogue asked.

"I didn't do this."

"Telepath did," Hawk commented. John, Rogue and Bobby looked at her. "I didn't do it!"

"No, I did." No one needed to guess who it was. They all looked up to see Professor Charles Xavier roll up to them, with the rest of their mutant class behind him. He looked at John. " And the next time you feel like showing off, don't."

Hawk avoided Storm's gaze_. I'm in trouble_, she thought.

Just then, the breaking news theme came on a near by channel. It was about an attack on the White House, saying that at least one mutant was involved. "I think it's time to go, Professor."

"I think you're right."


	3. Chapter 3

Hawk did what she always did at a time like this: crawled into an air vent, and eavesdropped on the adults.

XX

"In my opinion," Scott said, walking away from the window he was at. "Magneto's behind this."

"No, I don't think so, Scott," Jean said.

"Well, Erik is capable of organizing something like this in prison," Professor said. "But, for him it would be irrational. It only hurts his goal for mutant prosperity."

"You mean superiority," Scott corrected as he sat down on the couch.

"You're right. If Erik had his way."

"Of course you know how the governments going to respond," Storm said as she walked away from her window and sat down next to Scott on the couch. "They'll reintroduce the Registration Act."

"Or worse. The president could declare a state of emergency. And place every mutant in the country under arrest."

"Do you think the assassin was working alone?" Jean asked.

"Oh, we'll know more about that if we find him before the authorities do. I've been trying to track him using Cerebro, but his movements are... inexplicably erratic. When I have more exact coordinates- Storm, Jean- I want you to take the jet and pick him up."

They nodded. Jean looked up and then looked at Storm, who also looked up toward the air vent.

XX

_Oh, no, _Hawk thought as she tried to scramble out of the vicinity, Jean caught her with her telekinesis though. _Not again._

XX

Jean tugged, and Hawk fell out of the air vent, landing hard on her arm- as she usually did when this happened. "Jean, I'm gonna kill you!"

"You always say that," Jean replied, laughing.

"What were you doing up there, Hawk?" Storm asked, crossing her arms.

"Eavesdropping again."

"If you're thinking you're going to come on this trip with us, think again."

"Oh, come on."

"No, Hawk," Storm said firmly.

Hawk looked down. "I never get to join in on the fun."

"I seem to recall," Scott said, "a little sneak coming on the jet when she wasn't supposed to and help out on Liberty island."

"That was _months _ago."

"Hawk," Storm said in the same firm tone. "You're not coming and that's final."


	4. Chapter 4

"Logan!" Marie cried happily, flinging herself at him.

He bent down slightly and wrapped his arms around her, returning her tight hug. "You miss me, kid?"

She shrugged, though her smile was wider than he'd ever seen. "Not really."

He cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah, sure. How're you doing?"

"I'm okay," she said with a happy nod. "How about you?"

Logan shrugged nonchalantly and nodded to a young man that was now standing behind her. He smelled like dry ice, but being that Logan had just been surrounded by Canadian snow, it didn't bother him much. What _did_ bother him was the fact that the boy looked like he wanted to engage in a standoff with Logan. "What's this?"

"Oh, this is Bobby." she said. "He's my – "

"I'm her boyfriend," the boy said pointedly, standing tall and offering his hand for Logan to shake. Logan took it and knew for a fact that the boy was gripping hard on purpose. It took more than a little willpower to keep from pointing out that Bobby might break his hand on Logan's metal bones if he gripped any harder, coating Logan's hand with a thin layer of ice. "They call me Iceman."

But Marie looked so excited that he the thought of wiping away her beautiful smile was out of the question. He'd deal with this tough guy one on one later. "Right." A wicked idea came to mind and Logan simply couldn't resist. "Boyfriend, eh? So how do you guys – ?"

While Marie smiled up at Bobby with a light blush, he looked down at her and became flustered and a bit irritated. "Well," he said, clearing his throat uncomfortably. "We're still working on that."

"Look who's come back," someone said. Logan looked up to see Storm coming down the staircase. Hawk followed. "Just in time."

"For what?" Logan asked, confused.

"We need a baby-sitter," Storm replied as she reached the main floor.

"Baby-sitter?"

Storm laughed slightly. "Nice to see you again, Logan."

"Hey, Logan." Storm didn't need to ask who had followed her down besides Hawk. Hawk rolled her eyes, and received a shock from Storm for it. _Ow, _she said telepathically to Storm.

_Stop it, _Storm warned her before turning back to Logan and Jean- who had reached the main floor also. "I should go and get the jet ready," she said, walking toward an elevator. "Come on, Hawk." Hawk dashed after her. "You can help me."

"Does this mean I get to go with you?"

"No, Hawk."

"Come on. Please?"

_"No, _Hawk."

"Aw." Hawk stopped at the doorway and turned to Logan. "By the way, Logan," she said mischievously. "You might want to turn around and see who's behind you."

Logan turned to see a pure white wolf standing in the doorway. Logan quickly figured out what was going to happen. "Oh, no."

XX

_Oh_, _yes, _Hawk thought. _Go for it Isis!_

In that moment, Isis ran and pounced on Logan, literally bowling him over. The people around him chuckled, and covered their giggles and smiles with their hands. "Hawk," Storm said, with a slight smile of amusement.

Hawk got the hint and turned back to the group. "Isis!" Isis obediently got off of Logan, and he immediately got back up. "Welcome back, Logan!" Hawk called as she followed Storm to the lower levels.

XX

"Well, well, well." Logan turned his attention to the staircase and saw the gorgeous face of the second woman he'd been hoping to see. The white shirt and leather pants she wore clung to her body like a second skin, and her hair was shorter than he remembered. _But beautiful, as always. _"Look who's returned."

Logan wiggled his eyebrows in an effort to ignore the frantic pounding of his heart in his ears. Despite the minimal change in her appearance, she was still every bit a goddess. He inhaled her powerful rain forest scent deeply and almost let out a contented sigh. She smelled better then he remembered. "Isn't that what the prodigal son does?"

"I'll ask the next time he stops by." She stopped in front of him, her smile wide and her eyes bright. "I won't fault your timing, though."

"Is that so?" he asked with a devilish grin. "And why would that be, Ro."

The fresh happiness returned to her face. She seemed to like that term of endearment better than a nickname, and Logan hid a smirk at the small victory. "We need a baby-sitter."

"Baby-sitter, eh?" He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Sad day. I was actually just on my way out…"

"Yeah, well, it was good to meet you," Bobby said with a hint of false sincerity.

Logan raised an eyebrow at Bobby. "I'm sure we'll meet again before too long."

He gave Bobby another dangerous smile and the youth swallowed hard, quickly turning and pulling Marie with him. "That's… I…" His voice cracked horribly as he tried to speak coherently. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Come on, Rogue. Let's go."

Marie gave Logan a winning smile before allowing Bobby to pull her along without fuss. "Bye, Logan. I'll see you later."

"Sure thing," he said, and returned his attention to Jean, the only person left. She too had cut her hair, but Logan found that he preferred this style to the plain ponytail she'd opted for when they'd last met.

"Storm and I are heading out," she said without preamble. She must have caught the slight disappointment in his eyes or in his mind because her next words were, "We won't be gone long. The professor wants us to track down the mutant who attacked the president."

Logan nodded. "So it _was_ a mutant," he said thoughtfully.

"You'll be here when we get back, won't you? Or do you plan on running off again?" She gave him a sly smile.

He shrugged with a smirk. "Well, I guess I could probably think of a few reasons to stick around." She gave him a wide smile, but something about her smile seemed forced too. What _was_ with the women today?

"You find what you were looking for, Logan?" he asked impatiently.

"More or less," he answered flatly, returning his gaze the Jean. She offered him a much better view.

"I'll see you boys later," Jean said with a raised brow, excusing herself in the direction that Ororo had gone.

"Be safe, okay?" Scott told her, all malice gone from his voice.

"You too," she said sweetly, planting a lingering kiss on Scott's lips. She turned back to Logan with a winning smile. "Bye." _"Try not to kill each other," _she said inside his mind, clear as day

"Yeah, see ya," he said gruffly. He'd had to briefly look away, as he wasn't the biggest fan of public displays of affection. However, if the right woman – white haired and blue eyed, of course – were giving him a goodbye kiss, he'd probably want an audience too.

That thought was dropped the moment Scott turned his indignant gaze back to Logan, and the latter tried not to laugh out loud. Scott was certainly possessive of Jean, and he still seemed to think that Logan had his eyes on her. _Whatever. _"Aren't you going to welcome me home?"

Nothing.

"Nice wheels," Logan said as he dug the keys out of his pocket and tossed them to Scott. "She needs gas."

Scott caught the keys and looked downright angry. "Then fill her up," he snapped, throwing the keys back with more force that was necessary. Logan caught them with ease as Scott stomped away and Logan was left alone in the foyer, smirking to himself as he inhaled the last of Ororo's scent.

"Logan," Xavier said briskly, "My tolerance for your smoking in the mansion notwithstanding, continue smoking that in here and you'll spend the rest of your days under the belief that you're a six-year-old girl."

Logan frowned and looked at his cigar before staring at the back of Xavier's head. "You'd do that?" he asked, more curious than frightened.

"I'd have Jean braid your hair. Welcome back."

_At least someone missed me… _Xavier placed the metal helmet on his head. Logan's vision blurred and he saw himself being tucked in my Ororo. He would have found the image pleasant, but noticed that he was wearing frilly pink pajamas and Marie and Jean stood at the door of his room, snickering madly. Logan had to shake his head to make the scene disappear.

Seeing no other alternative, Logan finally smashed the burning end into the palm of his hand. He ground his teeth but a hiss of pain still slid past his lips. Though he hadn't really thought that putting it out in this way would be particularly painful, he'd turned out to be quite wrong. He blinked away the stars that were blurring his vision and looked behind him to see that the doors of Cerebro had closed. "You want me to leave?"

"No," Xavier said calmly. "Just don't move." The machine began powering up and soon Logan was met with a large world map with thousands of white dots. It was breathtaking, though he wasn't sure what the lights were.

"These lights represent every living person on the planet," Xavier explained. Logan nodded and looked around. The lights were all around him, above him and even – he swallowed – far below him. He heard his pulse in his own ears but didn't bother to try hiding it. Xavier was preoccupied, and the increase in his heart rate wasn't significant. "The white lights are humans." The lights shifted to red, and Logan noticed that while they were numerous, there weren't nearly as many red dots as there had been white. "And these red ones are the mutants."

That made sense. Logan heard voices around him, much as he had the day he'd first arrived here but they were all quiet and blurred together, rather than distinct. "Through Cerebro, I'm connected to them, and they to me."

Logan looked around at the entire map of red lights again and whistled in wonderment. From day one, it had been clear that professor Charles Xavier was a powerful mutant. But to be connected to every single mutant on the planet had to take a massive amount of power. Xavier had to be one of the most powerful mutants in the world.

"You see, Logan, We're not as alone as you think."

Something about that statement triggered Logan's memory as to why he'd been looking for Xavier in the first place. "I found the base at Alkali Lake. There was nothing there."

"That broken line there represents the path of the mutant who attacked the president."

"I've been finding it difficult to get a lock on him."

Logan shrugged. "Well, can't you just concentrate harder?"

"Of course I could, if I wanted to kill him." Logan shook his head. _It figures. He always has the answer._ "There!" Xavier whispered excitedly. "It appears that he's stopped in Boston."

An image of someone hunched over with a cross in their hands became larger and louder. He was whispering in German.

The map and figure slowly disappeared and the metal plates and pristine emptiness of Cerebro's walls returned. As Xavier removed his helmet, Logan decided that now he'd have the professor's attention. "I need you to read my mind again."

"Logan…" The old man sighed heavily and waited a moment before turning his wheelchair and looking up at Logan. "I'm afraid the results will be the same as before."

It was clear that Xavier had things to do, but Logan was getting irritated with the old man at an alarming rate. The failure of what he'd found – or rather, what he hadn't found – had left a bad taste in his mouth. And after a month and a half… "We had a deal."

"The mind is not a box that can simply be unlocked and opened. It's a beehive with a million different compartments that…"

"Spare me the lecture," Logan said shortly.

"I have no doubt that your amnesia, your adamantium skeleton, your claws and your dreams are all somehow connected…"

"What dreams?" Xavier blinked, his face perfectly smooth and impassive and Logan narrowed his eyes at the old man. Logan knew better than to think that it was a slip of the tongue. Xavier was smarter then that, so perhaps he hadn't anticipated that mentioning his dreams would get him riled up. "I don't recall mentioning any dreams other than the one you saw where I'm being experimented on."

"And that was indeed a memory. Since it was in the form of a dream, I naturally assumed that your other memories would come to you in the same way. The minute you stepped into the room, I sensed that your mind was, for lack of a better term, less vacant. I was sure that you were gone for so long because you'd dreamt more memories and were following clues."

"Are you going to ask me to watch the kids too?"

"If you would be kind enough, yes. After I call Jean and Storm with the coordinates they need, Scott and I are going to visit an old friend."

"By 'old friend' I assume you mean Magneto… " Logan's lip curled up as he remembered his last encounter with the metal manipulating mutant. "Make sure to give him _my_ regards," he called down the hall. "Tell him to rot in hell. He got off easy for what he did to Rogue."

"_There are children in the house,"_ Xavier warned him. Logan strolled out of Cerebro with a shrug, popping his unlit cigar back into his mouth. If he'd gotten his way, Magneto would have been thrown over the side of the Statue of Liberty in place of Sabretooth. No one touched his Marie and got away with it.


	5. Chapter 6

Logan woke with a gasp, sitting bolt upright in his bed. His sheets were sticky with sweat, his pillow was on the other side of the room, and it felt like he'd shifted the position of his mattress. But he hadn't destroyed anything, and his claws were still retracted. That was an improvement, considering that he'd dreamt of being experimented on again.

After he'd accidentally stabbed Marie, he'd had to work hard to teach himself to keep his claws retracted. More often then not, he simply dozed so that he'd be half awake and in control in the event that his claws did jump out. Tonight he'd tried actually sleeping, and he was impressed with himself for not destroying anything, considering the fact that he'd had yet another nightmare. While it had been vivid for him in the past, it had never been so vivid that he'd even heard people talking.

"_He'll be indestructible."_

"_Inject the adamantium."_

And then the needles had punctured his skin, and the white hot liquid metal was injected into his bones…

Logan shivered and swung his legs over the side of the bed, rubbing his temples. He didn't _need_ to sleep. He very much wanted to, but if he was going of dream of pain and horror every time he shut his eyes, then perhaps a tired mind was the price to pay for not having a troubled mind. At times like this he was grateful for his healing mutation.

He stood with an annoyed groan and decided to roam the mansion and make sure that none of the children were causing mischief while the X-Men were out.

He checked the halls upstairs and they all seemed to be relatively quiet. He shrugged, knowing that silence didn't necessarily mean that everyone was sleeping peacefully. It didn't occur to him that the children may just be well behaved, because in a mansion filled with at least seventy-five kids, _one_ of them was bound to be a troublemaker.

He made his way downstairs and heard that the TV was on. Deciding to investigate who was still up at – he checked the position of the moon outside – 2:45-ish, Logan followed the noise to the living room. A boy no older than twelve sat on the couch with perfect posture, staring intently at the TV. He changed the channels every few seconds, but Logan noticed that he held no remote. He looked a little closer and saw that the channels changed every time the child blinked. _Neat trick…_

Blink…

"Global warming is going to kill us all. The Republicans are responsible."

Blink…

"I know you're in there. I hear you caring!"

Blink…

"I've never known you to judge a person based on their beliefs. In fact, you're pretty tolerant of everyone. Except Hugh Jackman…"

Blink…

"Can't sleep?"

It took a second for Logan to realize that he was being addressed. He shook his head and pulled his attention away from the television. "How can you tell?"

Blink…

"Because you're awake."

Blink…

Logan nodded. A child's logic was usually as simple as that. "Right. What's your excuse?"

Blink… Blink… Blink…

He finally settled on a nature show with a bored sigh. "I don't sleep."

"Fair enough," he said with a nod and continued down the hall. He thought about getting something to drink, and when the smell of dry ice drifted into his nose from the kitchen he decided that he ought to do just that.

Hawk and Bobby were talking in the kitchen about tactics and his relationship with Rogue, when Logan came in. "Hey," Bobby said.

"Doesn't anybody sleep around here?" Logan asked.

"Apparently not," Bobby replied.

"Nope," Hawk put in, slightly sarcastic.

Logan went to the fridge and opened it. "Got any beer around here?"

"This is a school," they said. "No alcohol around here, even if you are over twenty-one," Hawk added.

"So that's a no?"

"Yeah, that's a no," Bobby replied.

"Got anything other than chocolate milk?"

"There should be some soda in that cupboard," Bobby said, indicating it with his finger.

Logan went to it and grabbed a Dr. Pepper from it. He opened it, and was about to take a sip from it, then got a better idea, and handed it to Bobby. Bobby blew on the neck of it, and the drink instantly became chilled. He handed it back to Logan. "Thanks," he said.

"No problem." Bobby didn't seem quite as territorial as he had earlier, and Logan was sure that he knew why. He wondered if his own reaction to the boy had been so negative because of the fact that he'd made Marie leave. Perhaps if Marie hadn't constantly asked about him - as Jean had insisted that she had - Bobby would have been a little more polite and a little less macho when they'd met earlier.

"Okay," Hawk said, getting and putting her dish into the dishwasher. "I'm goin' to bed. Bye boys." She leaned a little closer to Bobby. "Have fun," she said teasingly. Bobby backhanded her, and she giggled.

"So, how long have you been here?" Logan asked as soon as Hawk was gone.

"Couple years," he answered easily.

"And your parents just sent you off to mutant school?"

For a second, Bobby looked a little uncomfortable, and Logan wondered if he was pushing this conversation in the wrong direction already. There were plenty of people that weren't on the best of terms with their parents for one reason or another. Marie had that problem, as he'd found out from touching her. In fact, it was logical to assume that most children at Xavier's school had either run away from home or lied to their parents. "Actually, my parents think this is a prep school," he said slowly.

_So he lied. _Logan nodded, starting to feel uncomfortable in his own skin. It was one thing to have a heart to heart with Marie while trying to keep her from running away, but another entirely to have a heart to heart with a boy he didn't know for no reason other than sheer boredom.

No, he refused to believe that. This conversation wasn't for the sake of boredom, it was for Marie's sake. Because, for some reason, she liked this boy, and she wanted Logan to like him too. He'd be damned if he was going out of his way to be uncomfortable for this boy's sake.

Still, Bobby's tone stirred a little pity in Logan's heart. "Oh, I see," he said, hoping he didn't sound too callous. "I suppose lots of prep schools have their own dorms, campuses…"

"Harrier jets?"

"It's a free country." Bobby raised an eyebrow, but said nothing more. There had been something strained in the boy's voice, and Logan couldn't quite place what it was. Nor did he want to, so he changed the subject. "So, you and Rogue, eh?" Logan had noticed that no one called Marie by her name. Part of him wondered if she'd told anyone else her real name. Logan himself only knew her first name.

"Yeah." He examined his ice cream very closely as he spoke. "It's not what you think, though. I mean, I'd like it to be…" He stopped speaking, seemingly horrified at what he'd said. Logan would certainly agree that it was the very last thing that the brat should have said, but he simply leaned in closer to Bobby, causing his pulse to skyrocket. "It's just… it's not easy when you want to be closer to someone… but you can't." Logan nodded solemnly, gazing at his drink. "You know," Bobby said suddenly, "I saw how you looked at Dr. Grey."

Logan narrowed his eyes at the youth. "Excuse me?"

"Nothing," he said innocently.

XX

Logan froze in place, his sensitive ears picking up movement around the house. Footsteps. A lot of them. Too many to have been a few children up for a late night prank.

"What is it?" Bobby asked tensely.

"Shh!" Logan closed his eyes and held his breath, concentrating on any and everything he could hear. Helicopters in the distance, hurried footsteps on every floor, calm and steady pulses. And one of those pulses was _very_ close.

Logan's eyes snapped open. Bobby looked apprehensive, but was otherwise completely unaware of how serious the situation was. He was also unaware of the green dot that sat right in the middle of his forehead. Logan cursed under his breath as he sprang up from his seat, turning around. The soldier he saw held a submachine gun – a Heckler & Koch MP5, to be exact – and managed to squeeze off a round in their direction before Logan reached him.

A bullet grazed his shoulder, but he barely noticed as he grabbed the barrel of the weapon, forcing it upwards as the soldier squeezed the trigger on full auto. The ceiling and walls were peppered with bullets and Logan grabbed his trigger hand, breaking it. "You picked the wrong house, bub!"

Logan slammed the soldier's back into the counter hard, hoping that the pain would make him pass out. Bobby had sensibly ducked behind the island and the temperature in the room dropped to well below zero. Logan could see his enemy's ragged breath. He was struggling against Logan's strength, and another hard shove would probably put him out, if not snap his spine.


	6. Chapter 7

Hawk covered her ears as Siryn's screams sounded through the mansion. Isis started howling. Were it just a normal night, Hawk would've told Isis to be quiet, and shut down her hearing until it was over, but her Danger Sense had gone off, and that was _not _a good sign.

Her door was busted open, and soldiers came in, weapons drawn. Isis growled, but Hawk held her back. The soldiers fired, but Hawk stopped the darts almost instantly with her TK. She reversed them, then shot them back at the soldiers. She grabbed her iPod, then her bath robe- since it had pockets to carry the iPod in- got off the bed, and stopped at the bodies. "Don't mess with a mutant you don't know."

The halls were chaos. Kids were screaming as they ran out of their rooms everywhere. Hawk joined the flow- minus the screams- but stopped when she saw Siryn's wall burst open- along with two soldiers who were knocked out on impact- and saw Peter come out carrying Siryn. "Nice one, Colossus," she said using his code name.

Kids stopped along the corridor a little farther back from him. Unfortunately, this corridor had a window, and a spotlight appeared. "Let's go," Peter said.

"Isis!" Hawk called as she and the other kids followed him.

XX

A high pitched shriek broke Logan's concentration, and both men shouted in surprise and pain. In terms of raw decibels, a military jet on full afterburners would have been quieter. And being that Logan's ears were much more sensitive, the sound showered his eardrums like white hot needles. Glass everywhere shattered, from the windows and sliding glass doors to the Coke bottle he'd left on the counter. His eardrums felt like they might burst at any moment and all he wanted to do was clap his hands over his ears and press until the noise faded away. His grip on the gun and the man loosened and the soldier finally broke free of his grasp, elbowing Logan in the face.

Logan let go and covered his ears as the soldier produced a knife. He might have succeeded in stabbing Logan if the shrieking hadn't stopped at that very moment. He felt a light slice across his face, but it was healing, as was his bullet graze. Logan grabbed the soldier's arm as he tried to take another stab at the mutant. Logan squeezed his arm, breaking it in at least three places. The soldier howled in pain and looked down at Logan's shoulder in horror as the wound finished healing completely.

He looked truly frightened as he looked back up into Logan's eyes, and time seemed to stop as Logan felt himself change in that instant as well. A film of red tinted his vision and he was suddenly running on adrenaline, instinct, and such raw fury that all coherent thought completely disappeared.

Wolverine's claws jumped out of his knuckles and he shoved the man hard against the fridge, stabbing him in the chest with both claws and letting out a furious cry that raised the hairs on the back of his own neck. He withdrew his claws and the man slumped to the ground, dead. Wolverine's breath was ragged as he looked back to the kitchen island, sure that Bobby had been shot in the scuffle. But the young boy's terrified eyes peaked over the counter at Wolverine, his pulse so wild that he could have been running a marathon.

"You all right?" Wolverine asked gruffly.

Any trace of adulthood that Bobby had possessed had disappeared, leaving only the face of a terrified child. Shaking terribly, Bobby simply nodded.

Wolverine gave him one curt nod. "Come on." To his credit, Bobby followed the order without question or hesitation. Wolverine looked around the corner into the hall and saw at lest four soldiers dressed in the same special ops gear. Before Bobby could peek around the corner, Wolverine shoved him back into the kitchen. "Stay here."

He moved stealthily, pushing his claws out and targeting the soldier nearest to him. His back was turned, completely unaware of Wolverine creeping up on him. Wolverine threw his hand over the man's mouth and stabbed him through the heart from behind, letting him fall to the ground with a light thud.

He moved for the next soldier and stabbed him in the chest, pinning him to the wall and letting him slump to the ground as well. He gave the other soldiers the same treatment, killing them quickly and silently as he moved down the hall. When he'd taken down all of them, Wolverine sprinted in the direction of frightened screams at top speed. Six terrified looking humans raised their guns to him and took aim, but Wolverine jumped right in the middle, surrounding himself.

They opened fire but he began slashing in every direction, and in a matter of ten seconds he was the only one left standing. Wolverine paused for a moment and pulled three darts out of his skin. He felt slightly dizzy, but the feeling disappeared with a light shake of his head. He heard quiet gasping and looked down to see the small boy who'd been watching TV earlier blinking rapidly. He too had the odd darts sticking out of his throat, and Wolverine pulled them out and tossed them aside as he picked up the child, some of his fury evaporating. He had to get this child to safety.

He picked up the mixed scents of the mutant children and found a tall, bulky man ushering the frightened children into a hidden door in the wall. Wolverine passed the unconscious boy off to the man. "Hey, take him too. He's stunned."

"I can help you," the man called in a thick Russian accent.

Wolverine shook his head, turning back. "Help them."

The man sighed reluctantly and disappeared behind the door, and Wolverine followed his ears to where there was the most commotion; the foyer. He smelled the sweat of the humans, as well as the distinct scents of dry ice, gasoline, and peppermint. He bolted down the hall and arrived at the balcony, looking down at the three mutant children as four heavily armed soldiers burst through the doors.

XX

"John, Hawk!" Bobby called. They two teens stopped where they were at his call. "Where's Rogue?"

"I don't know," John said.

"I just saw her down the corridor a few minutes ago," Hawk said. "But I don't think she's there anymore."

"I gotta find her," Bobby said before darting off.

John and Hawk looked at each other. "Hey!" They yelled as they darted after him.

XX

"Rogue!" Bobby called as she turned a corner.

"Bobby!" She pointed to the corridor behind her with her thumb as Hawk and John caught up with them. "This way!"

Bobby, Hawk, and John followed her, and stopped dead when they saw shadows outside the window they were passing. They screamed when the window exploded as it was smashed in. They all immediately dashed off.

XX

When they reached downstairs, Rogue stopped when she saw the bodies all over the floor. "C'mon," Bobby said.

They rushed into the main foyer, and the second doors in from the front burst open. Soldiers came in, weapons drawn- again. Hawk flicked her palms open behind Rogue and Bobby, and a fireball appeared on either hand. _Isis, stand down, _she told the wolf as she prepared to attack the intruders.

As the kids stood there frozen, a battle cry sounded above them. They looked up, and Wolverine jumped off the balcony and stabbed the first soldier closest to them, and then the next two. He sheathed his claws, and looked at the kids. "Let's go," he said to the stunned group. He opened the doors, and saw the spotlights pointed directly at them.

"C'mon, this way."

They didn't need to be told twice. Bobby took the lead, followed by John, then Hawk and Isis- who was right next to Hawk- then Rogue, and finally Logan. The reached a wall. "This is it," Bobby said as he pressed his hand against the wall, and it opened to reveal another secret passage to the tunnels. They all hustled in- except Logan. As he closed the door behind them, Rogue turned around. "Logan!"

"Don't shoot him," someone cried out. "Not yet…" More troops filed into the hall with their guns trained on him, but last man carried nothing but an arrogant smile.

"Wolverine?" The man's voice made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end and a low growl rumbled in his chest without his permission. "Well, I must admit, this is certainly the _last_ place I'd expect to find you." Wolverine tried not to let the voice get to him, but something about it was hauntingly familiar. "How long has it been? Fifteen years? You haven't changed one bit. Me, on the other hand…" He advanced on Wolverine until they were close enough to shake hands. The face didn't look familiar, but the eyes chilled Wolverine to the bone. "Nature takes its toll."

Wolverine frowned, and curiosity began replacing his anger. This man spoke as though they knew each other. Did he know how old Logan was? Did he knew where he'd come from and how he'd lost his memory? He felt his claws slowly retract as he looked at the man in wonder.

"I didn't realize Xavier was taking in animals," the man continued. "Even animals as unique as you."

Wolverine ignored the insult. "Who are you?" he asked slowly.

The older man grinned like a Cheshire cat. "Don't you remember?" he asked sweetly.

XX

As the teenagers rushed down the tunnel, Rogue stopped them. "Wait, wait, you guys we have to do something, they're going to kill him."

"He can handle himself," John said nonchalantly. "Let's go!"

Hawk looked at him in shock.

"Bobby," Rogue said desperately. "Please."

"I'm with Rogue on this one," Hawk said.

XX

"No!" Logan cried as an ice wall appeared. "No, no!"

Rogue, Hawk, and Iceman were standing in at the entrance to the tunnel. Iceman had his hand on the wall, forming the wall; Hawk lowered the temperature a bit, also using her elemental powers to add a little more ice to the wall. "Logan, come on, let's go," Rogue said.

XX

"Logan," Bobby tried.

"Go," I'll be fine," he said.

Hawk rolled her eyes.

"But we won't," Rogue said.

"I got a bad feeling about this," Hawk said as she watched Stryker's shadow.

XX

Logan turned toward them, then saw Stryker open something. "Go," he ordered.

Bobby lifted his hand from the wall, and went inside with Hawk and Rogue. Logan followed. "Keep goin'!" he said as he shut the door behind them.

With a scowl that made all four teenagers reek of fear, Wolverine jogged down the tunnels, following Bobby. Though his own eyesight was much better in the dark, Bobby knew where they were going, and had promised to lead them to the garage.

He'd felt _so_ close to remembering who the man was, but all he could remember was his name; Stryker. He growled in frustration as he pushed against his mental barriers to no avail. The teens all seemed to misinterpret the source of his frustration and picked up the pace.

They all reached the carriage house where the cars were kept. "Alright, get in," Logan said. "Get in."

"I'm driving!" John said as he darted for the driver's door.

"No, you're not!" Hawk declared as she shoved him aside. "I am."

Logan stopped them both. "Hey, maybe next time."

"Ladies first!" Hawk called as she opened the back door and slid into the middle. "Isis!"

Isis jumped in and sat on the floor between Hawk's legs to give John leg room. Rogue got in the passenger seat, Bobby went in behind her, while John slid in after Hawk. "This is Cyclops' car," Bobby said.

"Oh, yeah," Logan said as he popped his middle claw and stuck it into the ignition. Marie reached up and hit a button to open the garage doors and Logan floored it for a good fifteen minutes, taking the corners at nearly eighty miles an hour. The four teens sat in silence, clinging to their seats as though their lives depended on it. Marie especially, who wore a thin nightgown with no sleeves, had a lot of flesh exposed and was huddled as close to the door as possible. She seemed to be avoiding looking at Logan at all costs.

As they sped down the road, John was the first to break the silence. "What the hell was that back there?"

"John," Hawk scolded. "Language."

It took a moment for Logan to think about it. "Stryker," he finally said. "His name is Stryker."

"Who is he?" Rogue asked.

"I can't remember."

XX

Rogue took something off of her wrist and handed it to Logan. "Here," she said, "this is yours." Careful not to touch him, she placed his dog tag in his hand before recoiling back to her side of the car.

Hawk hid a smile at Bobby's expression and look at Logan. Suddenly, John got up, almost climbing over Hawk. "John!" she complained.

"I don't like uncomfortable silences," he said to the front two people.

"What are you doing?" Rogue asked as John reached at to hit a button on the radio. The speakers roared to life, and while the sound system was superb, the music was anything but- at least to most of them.

_"Bye, Bye, Bye (Bye, Bye) I don't really want to-_

John pressed another button and the music stopped.

"_Bye, Bye- _Aw," Hawk said. "Come on."

"You know that?" They all asked her.

"Duh," she replied, as if it should have been completely obvious. "It's 'Bye, Bye, Bye' by N*Sync. Good thing I have it on my iPod."

John pressed another button and the player slid down to reveal a weird looking phone. "I don't think that's the CD player," John remarked.

"Ya think?"

Logan grabbed it and pressed a button to make it extend slightly and beep. "Whoa." He looked at John. "Sit back."

"Thank you."

"Where are we goin'?" John asked.

"Storm and Jean are in Boston. We'll head that way," Logan replied a little brisk.

"My parents live in Boston," Bobby said, not sounding very enthused about it.

"Good."

There was a little more silence as the car sped up.

"At least I'll get to see my hometown again," Hawk said, breaking it. Everyone looked at her- Logan, through the rear view mirror. "What? I like looking at the bright side of things."

"I thought you lived in Florida?" Rogue said.

"I did," Hawk said, before her accent came out. "Born in the North, raised in the South."

John's hand suddenly tried to grab her iPod, but Hawk saw it coming, and jerked it away. "Come on, Hawk," John said.

"Not my fault you don't have your own iPod."

The speakers roared to life, and while the sound system was superb, the music was anything but. _"It ain't no lie, baby, bye, bye, bye!"_

He heard a quiet gasp from Marie and glanced in her direction. Much like the day they'd first met, she was staring at his knuckles, her expression troubled. Logan glanced down in shame before realizing exactly what she was looking at; there was blood caked on his hands from the soldiers he'd taken down. He wiped it off on his pants and continued staring at the road.

"Don't worry," he said quietly. "It isn't mine."

"I know."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Marie looking at him. In her eyes was sympathy that he hadn't expected to find. It was almost as though she knew that killing the soldiers had bothered him. Yes, he'd acted to defend the children. Yes, he probably could have stopped the soldiers that he'd encountered without killing him. But he'd had to think quickly, and had resorted to what he did best. Unfortunately, what he did best wasn't so nice.

Marie reached out and patted Logan's knee, still looking out the window. "And I understand," she assured him, tapping her temple for emphasis. "You're not an animal. You're human to the core."


	7. Chapter 8

They reached the Drake's house. Bobby opened the front door. "Mom, Dad! Ronnie! Anybody home?"

Apparently no one was. "I'll try to find us some clothes."

"That's okay, Bobby," Hawk said. "I've got another way." She stopped in her tracks as she turned to the door. "You don't have any other pets, do you?"

"A cat."

Hawk turned to Isis. "Stay away from the cat." Then she walked out the door. Bobby turned to John. "Don't burn anything."

Logan rolled his eyes at the adolescents and decided to explore the house. He made his way to the kitchen when he heard the odd cell phone in his pocket beep once. He pulled it out and examined it, pushing the sides to extend it as John had the night before. All he got was static.

He held it to his ear and tried anyway. Maybe it was voice activated? "Hello?" Nothing. He tapped it against the counter and tried again, ignoring how stupid he felt for thinking that hitting the device would make it work better. "Hello?"

XX

Hawk walked out and whistled. A hawk appeared and dropped a bundle containing jeans, a black top, and a jacket. Good thing she usually left her bedroom window open.

XX

After changing, she wrapped her PJ's in her robe and then sent them off with Sky. She was about to walk downstairs, when she saw Bobby and Rogue kissing. As she was about to smile, Bobby broke it off, breathing heavily.

"I-I'm sorry," Rogue said.

"It's okay," he said after a moment.

Hawk was about to rush downstairs when a floorboard creaked. "Darn it!"

"Hawk!" Bobby exclaimed.

"I swear I wasn't eavesdropping this time. I was just passing by when I saw it happen."

XX

He stood alone in the kitchen, awkwardly looking around before shaking off the feeling that he was being watched and opening the fridge. He saw juices, power drinks, and a Miller Genuine Draft. Not his favorite, but he'd take what he could get. Popping the cap off, he drained half the bottle in one extended swallow. He whirled around and pushed his claws out of his right fist, pointing them at a cat. Logan relaxed before he hurt the animal. He was so tense that logic and thought had taken a backseat to instincts and action. The feline gave his claws an unimpressed look before it began purring and sauntering up to him. Logan's expression softened and he retracted his claws, lightly scratching the cat's ears. _I guess I like cats,_he thought, though he wouldn't call himself a cat person, per se.

Generally, he preferred the company of animals to people. If an animal was afraid, you'd know that it was afraid. If it was angry, you'd know that it was angry and if it was shy you'd know that it was shy. People – humans and mutants alike – had a habit of being far more complicated than that.

Logan heard footfalls much too late and looked up at the backdoor as Bobby's family walked in and caught him holding a beer that wasn't his in a house that wasn't his. All three halted, their pulses rapid as they stared at Logan, or rather the bloodstains on his shirt.

"Who the hell are you?" the father asked, getting in front of his son. The mother, on the other hand, quickly got the cat and pulled it out of Logan's reach.

Logan didn't have an immediate answer that had any chance of improving the situation, and instead pointed to Bobby, who had rushed down the stairs. His heart was pumping a mile a minute as his family focused their attention on him.

"Honey, aren't you supposed to be at school?" his mother asked.

"Bobby, who are these people?" his father demanded.

Bobby took a shaky breath and pointed to Logan. "Uh, this is… Professor Logan." He looked back at Logan as if to ask if that was acceptable, but Logan simply cocked his head to the side.

Bobby's mother was glaring at Marie distastefully, specifically the white opera gloves she was wearing. "Bobby, what is that girl doing wearing my clothes? And… are those _Nana's_ gloves?"

"Mom, Dad? There's something I need to tell you."


	8. Chapter 10

They all sat in the living room. Logan stood in the doorway, John leaned on a table behind Rogue, who sat with Bobby on the couch L-shaped couch; Hawk was on Bobby's other side, Isis in front of her- Hawk made sure she had a grip on the black collar- with and Ronnie on the other side of the couch; Mr. Drake sat on a stool across from them. Bobby's mother was the first to speak after several long minutes of nothing but the incessant _click, snap, click, snap._ Logan found himself glaring at the lighter rather than the boy, though he was tempted to toss both out the window. "So, uh… when did you first know you were a… a…"

"A mutant," John finished for her. Mrs. Drake looked at John, who looked back evenly. "Would you cut that out?"

_Please, _Hawk thought exasperatedly.

"You have to understand," Mr. Drake said, "we thought Bobby was going to a school for the gifted."

"Bobby is gifted," Rogue said.

_"Very,"_ Hawk added.

"We know that," Mr. Drake said. "We just didn't realize-"

"We still love you Bobby," cut in. "It's just, this mutant problem is-"

"What mutant problem?" Logan asked.

"Complicated," she finished.

"What exactly are you a Professor of, Mr. Logan?" Mr. Drake asked.

"Art."

Hawk struggled to keep from bursting out in laughter, while also keeping a straight face. Bobby nudged her. She glanced at him. _It's funny. I can't imagine Logan teaching art, can you?_

John looked up.

"Well you should see what Bobby can do," Rogue said. Bobby reached out to touch his mother's teacup. The tea inside automatically turned to ice.

"Bobby..." his mother said speechless.

"I can do a lot more than that," Bobby said with a small smile.

Mrs. Drake- with shaky hands- placed the tea on the coffee table. The cat jumped up onto the table and began to lick the ice-tea. John smirked. Ronnie, filled with anger, got up and stormed upstairs.

"Ronnie!" Mrs. Drake called.

The smile faded from Bobby's lips.

"What's his problem?" Hawk asked.

"This is all my fault," Mrs. Drake said.

"Actually," John said, "they discovered that males were the ones who carried the mutant gene and passed it on. So it's his fault."

Hawk turned to him. "You're a _real _help," she said sarcastically. "Ya know that?"

"You do this all the time Hawk."

Hawk scoffed at him, then used her thumbs and forefingers to form a 'W'. "Whatever." She saw Ronnie watching them and caught a whiff of his thought. _Oh, no, _she thought. _We're in trouble now._

XX

All eyes turned to Logan before he realized that the ringing was coming from his pocket. "I guess it's for me."

He pinched the sides, extending the odd phone and held it to his ear. "Jean?" He certainly hoped that it was Jean…

"Logan," Jean cried on the other end, "Thank God it's you! We couldn't reach anyone, even at the mansion."

"No one's left, Jean," he said, walking out onto the porch. "Soldiers came."

XX

"What about the children?" Storm asked as she joined Jean in the cockpit again.

"Some of them escaped. I'm not sure about the others though."

Storm and Jean looked at each other. "And Hawk?"

"With me."

Storm closed her eyes in relief.

"We haven't been able to reach the Professor or Scott either."

Storm, relief moment over, got down to business and climbed back into the pilot seat. "Where are you Logan?"

"We're with Bobby Drake's family."

"Okay, we're on our way."

"And Storm, make it fast."

XX

Logan closed the door behind him as Isis sat up and started growling at the glass door. Hawk's Danger Sense also went off. "We have to go now," Logan said.

"Why?" Rogue asked as she got up.

"Now!"

"Logan what's wrong?"

"What's goin' on, Logan?" Hawk asked, Isis on her heels.

"Logan, what's wrong?"

"Follow my lead." He pushed passed the teens as they dumbly stared after him. His claws popped out of his fist and Mrs. Drake yelped as Logan led the teens to the front door. As he stepped out onto the porch, he was met with the sight of three squad cars and at least six police officers aiming their guns at him. They were too late. But at least it wasn't Stryker's troops. That was a positive, wasn't it?

"Drop the knives and put your hands in the air!" a male cop to the right ordered. There was a blond female cop on the left. She was a little older, much calmer, and more focused that the man to his right.

"What's goin' on here?" Logan asked.

"Ronny," Bobby hissed under his breath.

"I knew this was going to happen!" Hawk said under her breath. Rogue and Bobby heard her though.

"You knew this was going to happen?"

"Look, I sort of picked up on Ronnie's thoughts and... I didn't want to alarm anyone."

"I said drop the knives," the officer repeated.

Somewhere inside the house a glass door was broken and Mrs. Drake cried out in fear.

"Hey, this is just a misunderstanding."

"Put the knives _down_!"

Logan turned and glared at the inexperienced cop. "I can't."

The officer stared in shock.

"Look." He slowly raised his arm and pulled his claws into his hand. As he'd expected - in the back of his mind - he heard the man gasp and fire his weapon. The bullet hit his head hard and his world went black, but not before he heard the girls screech in terror.

XX

"Alright, now the rest of you," the officer said, "on the ground now."

Bobby looked at the officer as he lowered himself to the ground. John looked at the officer, then Logan and back, still standing up, unlike the girls, who were smart enough to stay on the ground. Isis had almost gone for the officer, had Hawk not held her back. Like Bobby and the girls, she too was on the ground. That left John.

"Look kid, I said on the ground.

John just stood here. Rogue stared at Logan. Then, John finally made his decision. "You know all those dangerous mutants you hear about on the news?"He paused, letting it sink in as he lit his Zippo. "I'm the worst one." He took the flame from his lighter and flung it at the officer who shot Logan. Then repeated the process at the blond officer. He turned to the house, and flung another one inside it. "John, stop it!" Hawk cried.

Rogue looked up at him in astonishment and disgust as he threw another flame towards the police cars. He made a double, then shot another one at a third police car; it blew up like it was in one of the atomic bomb pictures you sometimes see. The car came crashing down as another car came speeding in. John turned to it, and threw a fireball at the one closest to the speeding one.

XX

The cop that was driving saw the flame coming, but couldn't stop. "Look out!" The passenger cried.

They swerved to a final stop.

XX

John looked out in relish at his work. Rogue gasped as he threw, yet, another one at the line of police cars lined up. Hawk, lying next to her, tried to reach out and summon toward the flames toward her- being able to control all four elements and all- but, all she did was cause another blast with her own flames. "Oops," she grimaced and looked at Rogue. "Guess I need to work on that."

Rogue took off her glove on her right hand, and grabbed John's left leg. The flame stopped coming out of his hand and she was able to stop the flames entirely.

John doubled over from the effects of Rogue's power.

Bobby watched in shock as the bullet came out of Logan's head and drop onto the porch.

Two seconds later, a light tick on the ground next to Logan caused his eyes to snap open. He sat up slowly, ignoring the violent throbbing of his head as best he could. Around him was absolute chaos, and knew that he'd been down for more than a few seconds. There were now five cop cars instead of only three, and all looked like they'd exploded. Half charred humans cowered in various places on the ground.

As the wind picked up around them, Rogue looked up to see the _Blackbird _land. The kids, as well as Logan, got up. Standing, Logan cracked his neck, as usual when he was healing, and tried to ignore the intense pounding of his head as he surveyed the destruction a second time. He turned to glare at John, then they all raced off the porch.

The officer who had shot Logan still had his gin pointed at the kids, until he saw Logan alive, and was shocked.

Bobby looked at his family for a final time, then Logan walked past him, and he joined him and the others.

As they all got on board, they saw a demonish mutant in one of the passenger chairs."Guten tag," he said.

Logan stole the seat behind Storm, followed by Rogue and Bobby. Hawk took the one behind Jean with John behind her. "Who the heck is this?" Logan demanded.

"Kurt Wagner," the blue mutant said proudly, his German accent thick. His 'W' coming out as a 'V' "But in the Munich Circus, I was known as 'The Incredible Nightcraw – "

"Yeah, save it," he said, hurriedly strapping himself in. "Storm?"

"We're out of here."

"Whoa," Logan said as he gripped his armrests tightly, momentarily abandoning the task of strapping himself in. He looked around at the others, and thankfully none of them had noticed his miniature panic attack; Bobby was brooding in the very back of the jet, Marie was trying to comfort him, John looked every bit as uncomfortable as Logan was, and Kurt sat in his chair in silence, dejectedly staring at the ground. Hawk... _had _noticed it, and was trying to hold back a giggle.


	9. Chapter 11

Logan got out of his seat and walked up into the cockpit. Hawk, he noticed, was swinging her chair lazily from side-to-side while Isis dozed next to her. "How far are we?" he asked, eying the controls and screens blankly while leaning on Jean's chair. Before she could say anything, though, there was a loud sigh behind him. No one needed to guess who it was. Storm shot her a warning look, then continued on with her piloting.

"We're actually be coming up on the mansion now," Jean replied.

There was a steady beeping. Storm turned to the navcomp to see what was going on. "I've got two signals approaching," she said. She looked at them as Logan turned to her. "Comin' in fast."

Accompanying her announcement, a proximity alarm sounded. The _Blackbird_ shuddered in wake turbulence as the jets – Falcons, Logan noted – shot past to announce their presence, then throttled back to pace the bigger aircraft, taking up flanking positions on either side.

"Unidentified aircraft," a female pilot called over the radio. "This is Air Force two-one-zero on guard. You are ordered to descend to twenty thousand feet and return with our escort to Hanscom Air Force Base. You have ten seconds to comply."

"Wow," Storm commented. "Somebody's angry."

Hawk pointed at John as Logan turned and threw a pointed glare at him. "I wonder why."

"Hawk moved back a little," Storm said. For once, she didn't ask questions; maybe she used her telepathy, or she sensed Storm's urgency. Whatever it was, Storm was grateful, because as soon as she said that, the irate woman's voice came over the intercom again. "We are coming up alongside you to escort you to Hanscom Air Force Base." The three adults looked out Storm's side, then Jean's side of the view port to see twp military crafts on either side. "Lower your altitude _now_."

The pilot outside Storm's window pointed down, signaling them to lower their altitude- as if they needed another reminder."Repeat, lower your altitude to twenty thousand feet. This is your last warning."

The adults looked around fervently to either side of the view port. The jets waited all of three seconds before disappearing from sight. "They're falling back," Storm said softly, checking the screen to confirm.

"I got a bad feeling about this," Hawk said.

It was quiet for a moment, then the systems began blaring warnings. "They're marking us."

Logan's heart stopped. "What?"

"They're going to fire, hang on!"

XX

Hawk clambered back into her seat as Logan dived for his. Jean hit the throttle, and the jet took off with a burst of speed. Logan staggered back into his seat, then grabbed his seat belt. Hawk got hers on with ease, then got Isis on her lap, to keep the wolf from getting hurt. the ride was starting to get bumpy. Kurt made a cross, while John and Rogue got their seat belts on. Rogue was having trouble with hers, but no one noticed; they were caught up in the heat of the moment.

"I've got to shake them," Storm said she and Jean jinked the _Blackbird _into an all-out barrel roll.

"Wha-hoo!" Hawk cried as if she were on a roller-coaster.

"Please don't do that again," John said.

"I agree," Logan added.

"Wimps!" Hawk called.

XX

"Don't we have any weapons in this heap?" Logan demanded.

_Yeah, _Hawk thought wryly. _Storm._

Just as she thought that, Storm's eyes turned white, and the sky darkened.

Jean looked at Storm as Bobby and the others looked out the windows or viewport. Suddenly, nine tornadoes appeared on all sides of the _Blackbird._

Storm looked down as a newly formed tornado sandwiched one of the fighters. Only one to go.

Storm caused five more tornadoes to surround the final pursuer. When she managed to get around those, Storm brought all of her tornadoes on that pilot. The jet was starting to shake more and more violently. Hawk held on a little more tightly to Isis as the wolf whimpered.

XX

When Storm sensed the final pilot eject, she dispersed her storm that she created. Jean looked back at the others. "Everyone okay back there?"

The kids nodded.

"No," Logan said.

Suddenly, the danger lights went off, and they all looked toward the main console. No one had to ask. Missiles. "Oh my gosh, there's two of them." Storm said anxiously. She was breathing heavily- and everyone knew that she was just as scared as anyone.

Hawk hugged Isis tighter again. There was no way Storm's flying- as good of a pilot as she was- could outrun those missiles. There was also no possible way Storm would let Hawk take care of this, and Jean knew it. It was all up to her. She reached out to the missiles with her TK.

_There, _she thought as one finally wriggled.

XX

Hawk felt Jean's psych reach out for the missiles. But... there was something weird and creepy about it...

XX

The first missile finally exploded, and now Jean was able to focus on the other one. "There's one more," Storm said anxiously.

The alarms became louder as the second one came closer.

"Jean?"

Jean focused all of her energies on that missile, but nothing happened. Suddenly, she gasped. Storm looked at her even more anxiously. "Oh, no," Jean whispered. The most she was able to do was put a shield around the back of the jet.

But that didn't keep it from losing it's armor. The missile hit the back of the jet, rocking it forward violently and sending it into a nose dive straight for the ground. Rogue, seat belt not on, flew out of her seat. "No!" Bobby cried.

Hawk was lucky she had her telekinesis to keep Isis in place, along with her arms tightly wrapped around her. But, she did feel bad about losing Rogue.

"Rogue!"

"No!" Logan screamed at Bobby.

Jean turned forward.

XX

Storm looked down as Kurt slid forward toward the console, then looked at their altitudes; which was decreasing fast.

Jean looked at Logan.

Storm tried to focus her energies on the winds, trying to level out the craft. Suddenly, there was a loud noise, and everyone looked back to see the back end of the jet rebuild itself. Storm looked at their altitude, and saw their descent slow. "Jean?"

"It's not me!"

"Hawk?"

"Don't look at me!"

They came to an abrupt halt, breathing heavily. Rogue looked up, as everyone else looked out throught the viewport to see MNagneto and Mystique there.

"That creep!" Hawk exclaimed. "How did he get out? And where di he come from?" Then she picked up his thoughts.

_When will these people learn how to fly?_

_Storm is an awesome pilot, _Hawk thought.

"It's not me," the red head cried as they came to a rough halt. Logan looked out the front window and saw that they were still a good ten or fifteen feet above the ground. Magneto was effortlessly holding the jet in the air, smiling cordially with Mystique by his side. Considering who it was that was holding them in the air, it didn't surprise Logan that no one was breathing a sigh of relief just yet.

As Magneto settled the plane down, Storm shut off the power to the jet. Then they all disembarked, Storm, Logan, and Jean first followed by Kurt and the children. "Thought you were locked up," Storm said, not really happy to see him. Mystique was standing next to him.

"Had a small jail break," Mystique replied.

"I don't want trouble," Magneto said.

"Then what do you want?" Logan asked.

"Your help."

Storm knew she couldn't trust him, but they didn't really have much choice. She turned toward the children. "Alright everyone, get the camp supplies while Logan, Jean and I talk with Magneto."


	10. Chapter 12

Magneto lowered his arm and the jet slowly lowered to the ground with it. The second the aircraft touched down, Logan raced to get his straps off and bolted out of the jet without looking back. Once on solid ground, his mind was a bit clearer and Logan heard a delighted peel of laughter come from Mystique.

His face unusually pale, John sunk to the ground and put his head between his knees, gently rocking back and forth.

Logan frowned as he looked at Mystique, confusion rising to the surface before contempt. "Didn't I kill her," he asked himself strangely. He narrowed his eyes to make sure that it was really her. He didn't know of any other shape-shifters, but Mystique couldn't be the only one in existence. She licked her lips in what she probably thought was a seductive manner. Logan, however, slumped to the ground next to John and put his head between his knees as well. He was sure he looked every bit as ridiculous as John, but it was either that or risk throwing up.

John was able to recover much faster than Logan, though both were on their feet at the same time. John seemed to have put the ordeal behind him in a matter of ten minutes, and even seemed a little energized since he'd survived it. Logan was nowhere near that point. Every once in a while he'd step on an uneven patch of grass and become rigid while he tried to avoid staggering, and the slightest breeze was like an unpleasant electric shock. He did his best not to show how shaken he was, because he knew that he hadn't suffered the most.

Jean was laying down in one of the tents that Kurt and Ororo had helped set up. She had a massive migraine, so bad that Logan had felt his own head pulsing when he'd stepped too close to her. Marie was in anther tent, still badly shaken from flying out of the jet and almost falling to her death. Bobby, still enraged with John and also shaken on Marie's behalf, seemed to be offering her support.

Ororo was resting in yet another tent, strained from the chaos she'd created to out-maneuver the jets and still straining to maintain their cover while the military was still out looking for them. As far as Logan knew, she was creating a heavy thunderstorm over the pilots that had abandoned their jets. The military would be looking for the lost pilots before they worried about the X-Men. By Logan's estimate, they were at least five miles away, and Ororo would probably have a migraine equal to Jean's when she was satisfied with her results.

After Kurt and John had finished setting up the rest of the tents, Kurt had begun trailing behind Mystique, fascinated by the similarities between them. Magneto was sitting on a tree stump, twirling what looked like three bullets in the air while staring off into space, deep in thought. Jean, Marie, Bobby, and Ororo were still in their tents.

When Logan found Jean still sleeping peacefully in her tent, he sat down in the corner and simply watched her, his mind far away. He hated to admit it, but he was jealous that she could sleep so easily. His head was pounding too, from more than the bullet he'd taken earlier. But he knew that it wasn't her fault that she could sleep peacefully. Nor was it necessarily his fault that he _couldn't_ sleep at all.

He wasn't sure how long he sat in Jean's tent, staring at her without really seeing her, but when she finally began to stir, he snapped out of his daze and realized that it was dark outside. He cleared his throat for her benefit, knowing that her night vision wasn't as good as his.

Jean didn't start or even seem particularly surprised to see him there. She gave him a tired smile and he smiled back. "Feeling any better?" he asked.

"Much better, thank you," she replied, stretching widely. "How about you? Did I hear right when I heard John say that you got shot today?"

Logan tapped his forehead loud enough for her to hear. He didn't wince, but he certainly wanted to. "Adamantium, if I remember correctly."

"Indestructible," she said with a nod of her head, but she still looked concerned.

"I had a bit of a headache, but it passed," he said with a shrug. It hadn't passed completely, but there was nothing wrong with a little white lie. She shouldn't have to waste time worrying about him when he'd heal.

She stifled a yawn as she stretched again. "I promise I'll be out to help with the jet in a few minutes."

"No rush. You're entitled to be a little lazy."

"Any other time I'd be inclined to agree with you, but we have a lot of work to do that isn't going to get done by itself." She slowly pushed herself up to her feet, waving off Logan's offered hand to help. "Not to mention we need to keep a close eye on Magneto and Mystique. I don't care how honorable their intentions may seem, Magneto always has an ulterior motive."

"I believe that," Logan replied with a nod. The attack on the mansion, and the fiasco at Bobby's house had put all of his combat instincts on high alert. Perhaps Ororo had been right to pull him out of the conversation that she was having with John. Logan was beginning to feel a little too tense and, if he didn't find an alternative outlet, John might find himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

As if to prove how tense he truly was, a loud noise outside the tent made Logan start and pop his claws out. Kurt stuck his head in with a wide and innocent smile until he saw Logan's claws. Logan quickly sheathed them and Kurt eyed Logan's bare knuckles for a moment before he turned to Jean. "Pardon my intrusion, and I apologize for scaring you, but they are looking for the two of you outside," he said. "They told me to fetch you since I can teleport."

"By 'they,' you must mean Mystique," Jean said distastefully.

"Ja. Magneto has something he wishes to discuss. He says this is why he saved us earlier."

Jean and Logan traded a knowing look. As she'd predicted, Magneto wanted something in return for saving them. Logan couldn't say he was surprised.

"Do I need to be there as well?" Kurt asked hopefully.

"I don't think so," Jean said with a kind smile. "But thank you."

"Bitte shone," he replied cheerfully. With a loud _bamf_, he was gone and Logan and Jean were once again alone.

She sighed and followed Logan outside and in between the various tents to the roaring campfire that was more or less out of earshot of the children. If he had to guess, the campfire was for psychological comfort, because the interior of the jet could provide better light, and the night was already plenty warm.

After the fire was started, the X-men were on one side, and Magneto was on the other. Storm and Jean stood in front of Logan on either side. Hawk was by Storm- who probably let her come because she was going to eavesdrop anyway. Mystique, and Magneto were in a straight line.

"His name is Colonel William Stryker," Magneto was saying, "and he invaded your mansion for one purpose he wanted Cerebro. Or enough of it to make one of his own."

"But that doesn't make any sense," Jean said. "Stryker would need the Professor to operate it."

"Which I think is the only reason my old friend is still alive."

"Oh my gosh," Storm said. She looked at Jean and saw that she was thinking the same thing. Logan didn't have a clue though.

"Hey, now," He said looking from Jean to Storm, "What are you all so afraid of?"

"While Cerebro is working," Magneto said Charles's mind is connected to every living person on the planet. If he were forced to concentrate hard enough on a particular group, let's say mutants for example... he could kill us all."

Hawk looked nervously at Storm, and she put a comforting arm around the thirteen year old. There was an awkward pause. "Wait a minute," Storm said. "How would Stryker even know where to find Cerebro in the first place?"

"Because I... told him," Magneto said with a sigh.

_Of course you did,_ Storm thought.

"I helped Charles build it, remember? Mr. Stryker has powerful methods of persuasion. Even against a mutant as strong as Charles.

"So who is Stryker anyway?" Jean asked.

"He's a military scientist. He spent his whole life trying to solve the mutants problem. If you want a more intimate perspective, why don't you ask Wolverine." Logan looked up. Jean and Storm looked at him stunned. "You don't remember do you? William Stryker the only other man I know who could manipulate adamantium. The metal on your bones, it carries his signature."

"But the Professor-" Logan began.

"The Professor trusted that you were smart enough to discover this on your own," Magneto snorted. "He gives you more credit than I do."

"Why do you need us?" Storm asked.

"Mystique," Magneto said, looking at her. "Has discovered plans of a base, that Stryker's been operating out of for decades. We know that's where he is building the second Cerebro; but, we don't know where this base is. And I believe one of you might."

"The Professor already tried." Logan said.

"Once again you think it's all about you," Magneto said, looking up. They saw Kurt hanging in the tree.

"Oh, hello," he said.

After he came down, Jean did a small reading on his mind. Even though it was only a few seconds, she felt Toad's unappealing stare upon her. She shook it off, but not without Logan noticing. He gave her a concerned look, but she returned it with a hard stare that told him to drop it. Kurt cried out.

"I'm sorry," Jean said. "Stryker's at Alkali lake."

"That's where the Professor sent me, there's nothing left."

"There's nothing left on the surface, Logan, the base is underground."

Logan swallowed, hoping that his... intrigue wouldn't become apparent to anyone else. Where the hell had those thoughts come from, anyway? Why was he feeling frisky when the general feeling in the air was so somber? It had to be the woods… the way the light from the fire danced across her face and snow white hair, the way her rainforest scent mingled with the scent of the dry woods…

"All right," Jean said finally. "Start talking."

"Our adversary," Magneto began gravely, "Is Colonel William Stryker. And he invaded your mansion for one purpose: he wanted Cerebro, or enough of it to build one of his own."

"That doesn't make any sense," Jean interrupted with a frown. "Stryker is a human. He would need the professor to operate it."

"Which, I think, is the only reason why my old friend is still alive," Magneto said with a humorless smile.

Logan blinked, suddenly remembering that through all of this, Xavier had been missing. He'd said that he was going to visit Magneto, but it seemed that he'd been intercepted by Stryker. Was Scott with Stryker too? There was a significant silence, and Ororo finally gasped. "Oh my god," she whispered.

Logan frowned, waiting for her to continue, but instead she traded a grave look with Jean, who looked between Magneto and Mystique before turning to Logan. He looked to Ororo, who wore a matching expression. He didn't get it, but everyone else seemed to. "What are you all so afraid of?"

Magneto gave him a cynical look, one that clearly said 'shouldn't that be obvious, child?' "While Cerebro is working, Charles' mind is connected to every living person on the planet. If he were forced to concentrate hard enough on a particular group – let's say, mutants, for example – he could kill us all!"

"Wait a minute." Ororo stood to her full height and took a step towards Magneto, her eyes narrowed. "How would Stryker even know where to find Cerebro in the first place?"

Magneto's expression became rather sober, even guilty. "Because I told him." Ororo shook her head in disgust and Logan heard her grind her teeth as well. "I helped Charles build it, remember," he continued. "Mr. Stryker has powerful methods of… persuasion. Effective even against a mutant as strong as Charles. And make no mistake, if Stryker has Charles, he'll find a way to break him. If he weren't absolutely certain of that fact, he wouldn't have acted."

Logan frowned. That wasn't the least bit comforting. "So who is this Stryker, anyway?" Jean asked. Logan listened carefully. Perhaps some of the things that Magneto knew about Stryker would jog Logan's memory.

"He's a military scientist," Magneto supplied. "He spent his professional life trying to solve what he considers to be 'the mutant problem.' If you want a more intimate perspective, why don't you ask Wolverine?"

"His name is Logan," Jean said, coming too quickly and too sharply to Logan's defense. Mystique gave her an amused smile, while Logan and Ororo looked at her strangely. Jean shook her head as though to rid herself of her thoughts and turned to Logan. "So? Who's Stryker?"

Logan let out a disappointed sigh. He couldn't really say that he was surprised that all eyes had, again, been turned to him for information that he didn't have. "You don't remember, do you," Magneto asked with a hint of amusement. "What a pity."

Magneto seemed unfazed. "William Stryker is the only other man I know who can manipulate adamantium; the metal on your bones. It carries his signature."

Logan didn't bother trying to decipher the meaning behind a 'signature' that marked him as Stryker's work. He felt like his head was spinning. How was it that he was getting these important facts about his past from the enemy? If Magneto knew such things, then why the hell hadn't Xavier divulged any of this information? He was supposed to be the mind reader. Logan shook his head. It had to be a trick. "The professor told me – "

"The professor trusted that you were smart enough to discover this on your own," Magneto said with a superior smirk. "He gives you _much _more credit than I do."

Ororo cut in, placing a sympathetic hand on his shoulder as she glared at Magneto. "I'm sure you'll understand if we don't take you at your word purely on good faith," she said icily. "You went to some trouble to save us, for which we're… appropriately grateful. But we're not stupid. You need us for something, so what is it?"

Magneto smirked at her, as though a student had just asked an excellent question. "Mystique has discovered plans of a base that Stryker's been operating out of for decades. We know that that's where he's building the second Cerebro, but we don't know where this base is. I believe that one of you might."

"The professor already tried reading my mind," Logan said with a bitter scowl. "But I suppose you already know more about what he saw than I do…"

Magneto rolled his eyes with a delighted smile. "Once again, you think it's all about _you_." His eyes were still up and Logan followed his gaze to see Kurt hanging upside down in a tree above them. Logan frowned, wondering how he hadn't noticed the blue mutant.

Ororo and Jean's scents were powerful enough to drown out anything else, so he couldn't have caught his scent – though, to be honest, he didn't yet know what Kurt's scent was. At the very least, he should have heard the mutant teleport into the tree above Magneto's head, but he'd been so engrossed in the conversation that he'd been thinking of nothing else. Or maybe he should have seen him, as his color didn't exactly blend in with the tree he was hanging from.

_Coulda, shoulda, woulda, _he thought, mentally shaking his head. He hadn't noticed, and that was that. Both Ororo and Jean seemed to trust him, he'd saved Marie's life, and he gave an air of overall harmlessness, if not a little mischief. If Kurt were truly a threat, Logan believed that he would have picked up on the presence of the other mutant.

"Oh… hello," Kurt said with a timid expression.

There was a long, awkward pause before Kurt gave a nervous laugh and disappeared, reappearing in front of Ororo. A wave of sulfur hit Logan's nose and he stopped breathing entirely to avoid gagging.

Kurt hung his head in sorrow. "Es tut mir leid. I didn't mean to snoop. I was just curious…"

Ororo shook her head and placed an arm around him, much to Logan's surprise. When had they become so friendly? "It's okay, Kurt. We actually need your help right now."

"My help?" he asked excitedly, stepping closer to Ororo and causing Logan's heart to thump uncomfortably.

_What should I care,_ he demanded. She didn't belong to Kurt! _She doesn't belong to me either,_ he reminded himself.

"_I am not a piece of meat, and I will not be looked upon as such!"_

He had a hard time believing that anyone would get away with claiming her as property, as it should be. He smirked for a second before he pushed his thoughts down as far as they would go. He needed to focus right now.

"I need to read your mind," Jean said kindly, replacing Ororo's position in front of Kurt. "Try to relax."

"Will it hurt?"

She smiled. "No. You won't feel a thing." She placed her hands on either side of his head and closed her eyes. No sooner had she seemed to focus than she started blinking rapidly and shivering. Kurt gasped and pulled away from Jean. Her eyes snapped open, wide with apology. "I'm sorry! That wasn't supposed to happen."

"What happened?" Ororo asked, her voice laced with concern.

Jean shook her head. "Stryker's at Alkali Lake."

"That's where the professor sent me," Logan said, glancing at Kurt and deciding that the blue German would live. "There's nothing left."

"There's nothing left on the surface, Logan," she replied testily. It was easy to see that the strain of her powers was getting to her, despite her long nap. "The base is underground."

"What wasn't supposed to happen, Jean?" Ororo insisted, touching her friend's shoulder. Jean recoiled from the touch, and Logan swore he'd heard a quiet snap of static. Jean shakily ran her fingers through her hair, waving her friend off. "Nothing," she hissed quietly.

"Perhaps we should retire for the night," Magneto suggested boredly. "We'll gain nothing by exhausting ourselves. There'll be time enough to go over the information that you've gained while we're on route to Alkali Lake tomorrow. That is, if I'm correct in assuming that Wolverine still knows where it is."

Before Logan could give a nasty reply, Magneto left the fire pit with Mystique in tow. Jean made a hurried exit and disappeared into the jet while Ororo put herself back in front of Kurt, her eyes worried. Logan would have retreated to his own tent or possibly to the jet as well, but the sight of Ororo so close to Kurt stilled him.

He tried to shake off his suspicions, both reasonable and ridiculous. _I'm a possessive bastard watching over a woman that isn't mine,_he reminded himself as he tried to leave the scene. His steps slowed and finally stopped as he turned back to Kurt and Ororo.

Yes, he was being nosy. Yes, he felt protective of a woman that was promised to someone else. If he had his way, he'd replace the man completely, but he knew that such a thought was a bit on the ambitious side.

_I'm nothing if not ambitious,_he thought with a smirk. If he wasn't then he would have pursued Jean Gray rather than Ororo Munroe.

"What happened?" she asked him quietly.

Hunched over so far that even Ororo had to bend down to be eye level with him, Kurt was the very picture of shame. Perhaps he thought that he might getting Jean into trouble. "Es macht nichts," he said carefully. _It doesn't matter._ "I was just startled when I saw some of the images of this base that you are looking for. She didn't hurt me, I promise."

Ororo nodded, reluctantly. "As long as you're okay…"

"Ja. Do not worry about Kurt." He stretched widely and stood to his full height. As he'd only seen Kurt crouching so far, it surprised Logan that the blue mutant towered over Ororo. He even seemed to be a little taller than Logan. "I believe the Magneto was right to suggest sleep. I will return to my tent now. Gute Nacht, Göttin." _Good night, goddess._

The teleporter disappeared with in a puff of sulfur and Ororo sighed, finally turning to Logan. "What a day," she muttered.

Ororo ran her fingers through her hair. Though she looked fresher than she had earlier, she looked no less tired.

"You okay?" Logan asked as casually as he could manage.

She sighed again. "I'll be fine," she said sternly.

Logan could see how guarded her expression was. He wanted her to talk to him, if it would help, but John had been right when he'd said that talking sometimes made things worse. He didn't know her well enough to know how to help her, and he desperately wished that he did. He wanted Ororo to tell him everything that was on her mind. He wanted to hear every detail of what was troubling her so that he could see it as vividly as if he'd lived it himself.

He knew that part of him wanted these things from her simply because he liked her, but he also knew that, more than anything, he wanted her to _want_ to tell him those things about herself.

He grabbed her hand and gently tugged until she was standing in front of him. "I'm sure you'll be fine eventually. I want to know how you are right now."

She sighed heavily, looking away from him. She didn't pull her hand out of his, and he took that as a good sign. However, she looked like she was waging war inside her mind, and Logan didn't want to put her under more stress than she was already in. He only wanted to help.

"You don't have to answer that," he said softly. "Do you need anything?"

"Too many things," she said softly, pinching the bridge of her nose. He idly wondered if John had picked up on that trait from her, or if she had gotten it from him.

Before she could turn away, he caught her chin lightly between his fingers and held her gaze. Her eyes seemed to be glowing. He wasn't sure if they truly were or if he just saw her that way, but whatever the reason, it caused his heart to pick up a hard and fast rhythm. He didn't dare breathe.

He stood by the ladder and waited as he heard her make her way down. She paused momentarily when she saw him, as though she was debating whether or not she wanted to turn and flee. Maybe she just wanted some time to herself. He had the feeling that he was about to find out.

"Hey," she said after an awkward pause.

"Hey," was his gruff response.

He inhaled his cigar, expecting her to continue on her way or perhaps give him something to do, but instead she frowned down at him. "You okay?"

He exhaled slowly, mulling that over. Could he classify his feelings as okay? The morning had begun with invading Bobby's house, explaining to his parents that he was a mutant and attended a mutant school, having the police called on them, and being shot in the head. The afternoon had consisted of nearly being shot down in an aerial dogfight, having a panic attack while they plummeted to their death, looking for John in the woods and being severely insulted by said teen. To draw the evening to a close, he'd reestablished his hatred of Magneto, ruined his friendship with Ororo, had something of a heart to heart to John, and finally ending with another short talk with Ororo that seemed to have left her more sad then angry.

Despite his best efforts, he really couldn't tell how Ororo felt about him. If she didn't give a damn about him, then he wouldn't be able to get under her skin so easily, right? The kiss they'd almost shared suggested a definite spark. Yes, she'd pulled away from him, but the way that she'd inched closer suggested that she'd wanted it as much as he had. _Funny, that I only realize that now._

But he'd only been in her company for three days, altogether, and she'd spent most of that time being angry at him for something or other that he'd said. He wasn't really used to watching his mouth, and he didn't know enough about Ororo to know what to avoid saying around her. He was so confused by everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours and so tired from lack of proper rest that he hardly knew how he'd begin to tell Jean his long list of problems.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said finally.

"You sure?"

He turned his attention fully to Jean, impatient for a subject change. He took his cigar out of his mouth and tapped the ashes away. "How're we doing?"

She sighed, and looked up at the jet. "Not good. I'm running fluid through the hydraulics, and if the test passes than it'll only take four or five hours to get her off the ground. We're certainly stuck for the night, but the good news is that our stealth netting should hide the _Blackbird_ pretty well from any casual reconnaissance. The passive scanning array says that we've got clean skies to the horizon, and according to the info-dump on the main computer, there shouldn't be any surveillance satellites overhead, so there's minimal risk of detection."

During her long diagnosis, Logan had grabbed her arm in an effort to silence her, but she'd seemed intent on finishing her analysis. When she finally finished, he blinked hard, wondering at even the gist of what she'd said. "Wow. That's not at all what I meant."

She sighed again and turned away from him. "I know what you meant. That's how I chose to answer." He lifted a brow at her and she shook her head. "I'm just worried about the professor… and Scott."

The second had seemed like an afterthought, but Logan paid it little attention. "I'm worried about you," he insisted, pulling her back as she tried to walk away. "That was some display of power up there."

She scowled at the damaged jet. "Obviously it wasn't enough."

"Hey, hey. Come on, you could have disabled the second missile no problem if you hadn't pacified me. It's mostly my fault."

He'd placed his hand on her shoulder and squeezed in what was meant to be a comforting gesture, but she looked into his eyes with a pained expression. "I love him," she said carefully.

Logan frowned. She hadn't sounded very convincing, and the way she'd said it made him wonder exactly who she wanted to convince. Was she telling Logan that she loved Scott, or was she reminding herself out loud? Why did she feel she had to justify her loyalty to Scott in the first place? As far as he knew, she'd known that he had eyes for Ororo. And he'd certainly never made a move on her.

Jean had been acting a little off ever since he'd come back, and he was determined to find out why. For whatever reason, she needed Logan to know that she loved Scott. "Do you?" he challenged, feeling that he was treading into dangerous territory.

"Girls flirt with the dangerous guy, Logan," she said, giving him a sad smile. "They don't take him home. They marry the good guy."

Okay, so Scott must be the good guy, since Jean was going to marry him. Hadn't Ororo said they they were going to get married? That meant that Logan must be the dangerous guy that she was flirting with. So far, he didn't see that anything was wrong with that, though Scott probably wouldn't see their banter as purely friendly. But shouldn't he trust her to be faithful to him?

And when had be even gotten the title of 'dangerous guy?' He certainly flirted with danger, but how could he not when he knew that he'd always heal? Having such an ability made it easier to be reckless; he was willing to admit to that. But that recklessness sure as hell came in handy when you wanted to stack the deck in your favor. And being dangerous didn't automatically translate to being the bad guy.

He wondered if Ororo followed this 'dangerous guy, good guy' logic too. Did Ororo see him as only the dangerous guy that she could flirt with occasionally? He gave Jean a casual shrug. "Is that it? I could be the good guy."

Her smile became sadder still. "Logan, the good guy sticks around." The tone in her voice bothered him. It sounded almost… longing, like perhaps she wanted him to be the good guy. _Her_ good guy. He frowned at her, studying her intently. Could it be that, in his light hearted flirting with Jean, that she had come to like him as something more than a friend?

No. He knew her about as well as he knew Ororo, but he refused to believe that she had genuine feelings for him. Didn't brides have serious doubts before they got married? Logan was almost a polar opposite of Scott, so maybe whatever affection she had for him was centered on 'what if?'

That seemed like a normal enough conclusion. Perhaps she just needed to be reassured that Scott really was the man for her. His hand flew from her shoulder to her neck faster than she could follow, and he paused for half a second. He knew that this wasn't just about showing Jean that she didn't really love him. True, he felt no spark with her. While he'd wanted to pull Ororo closer, he wanted to put a little distance between himself and Jean. But he was so frustrated with Ororo…

He pulled her into a heated kiss, his mind and body screaming in protest the instant his mouth was on hers. But she returned his kiss with surprising enthusiasm. Her hand roughly gripped the back of his hair and pulled him closer. He opened his eyes in shock and caught a rush of images and memories that didn't belong to him.

He was looking at the world through Jean's eyes. She and Ororo were sitting in the jet, staring out the window blankly. Ororo called Jean's name, but she didn't seem to notice. She called again and still nothing. Ororo reached out and lightly touched her friend, and Logan almost felt the light shock that she'd given Jean.

"I'm sorry," Jean said hurriedly, shaking her head.

"Are you okay?"

"All of the sudden, yeah," she said lightly, trying to brush it off. But even through Jean's eyes, Logan could see that Ororo wasn't buying it.

"Something wrong?"

Jean shifted in her seat, staring straight ahead. "I was just thinking that it'd be nice if this flight would go a little faster. I guess I got a little carried away. I didn't mean to push the jet faster."

"I see."

Ororo said nothing else, and Logan felt Jean's slight irritation. "What?"

"Nothing. I asked, you answered, end of story."

"_What_, Storm? Spit it out!"

Ororo shrugged, but Logan could see that she was picking her words carefully. "It doesn't have anything to do with Logan being back in town, does it?"

To his absolute amazement, Jean slumped down in her seat and buried her hands in her face as the blood rushed to her cheeks. "Oh, God. It shows."

"The sun 'shows' every morning when it rises, Jean," he heard Ororo say, an odd tone in her voice. "And right about now it has nothing on you." She sounded… bitter.

"This isn't fair!"

"Are you annoyed or tempted?"

"_Both_," she said, looking up and scowling at the controls.

"Ouch." Logan could sense Jean's ignorance, but he caught the hard look in Ororo's eyes. "He does have the look," she commented softly.

"You've got to take him off my hands."

"Sure, I'd be glad to," she muttered sarcastically, giving her friend a fake scowl.

"You're going to bust my ass forever, aren't you?"

"Plus a few days," she said lightly. Ororo then seemed to turn serious, and the strange look in her eyes vanished completely. "Look Jean, I like him. You know that. Personally, I think that you're just getting cold feet because you and Scott have a huge wedding right around the corner. But that's just my opinion. Only you can know what you truly feel. If Scott is taking a back seat to Logan - truly coming in second - then maybe you have your answer."

Logan felt a tired smile tug at the corner of Jean's lips, and she seemed to relax, if only a fraction. "Yeah, I'll bet you're right. What I feel is minor league. You two are the show, if the images I get from your head are any indication."

"We go together like matches and dynamite," Ororo agreed. "John hasn't even met him but, based on rumors and what I've told him, he thinks that Logan and I are a match made in hell."

"You told John about him?"

"He's a smart kid. When I was mad at Logan, John saw me and said, 'alright, whoever can get you all hot and bothered like this is someone worth mentioning to your kid.' He pulled it out of me."

"So, you like him... What's stopping you."

Jean broke the contact between them and Logan blinked rapidly, his vision returning to normal._ What just happened?_ Half a million questions raced through his mind as he looked at Jean. Did she really feel that there was something between them that was more than friendship? If so, how long had she been feeling that way?

He suddenly remembered the first night he'd talked to both Jean and Ororo. Ororo had shoved him against a door for admiring her backside, while Jean had been tolerant of his advances even after he'd nearly choked her. He'd wondered to himself if pursuing Jean might be a better idea than pursuing Ororo, but he hadn't truly meant it. He wondered if Jean had heard him thinking that, and had taken it to heart. Yes, he'd thought that Jean might be a fun challenge, but he didn't want Jean. He liked Jean just fine, but there was no contest.

He felt his entire body freeze. Did that mean that he wanted Ororo? Truly _wanted _her? He definitely liked her, but did he lo - ?

Several hundred more questions came to mind that pertained to Ororo and whatever he was feeling about her, but Logan knew better than to think too hard about her at the moment. Whatever he'd just seen, however he intended to interpret it, Jean was in front of him right now, and the issue between them needed to find some sort of resolve. _Now_.

"Please." It was a whisper between her ragged breaths. Her eyes were pleading, but Logan wasn't sure what she meant by that desperate plea. Please stop? Please _don't_ stop? "Don't make me do this."

He blinked. "Do what?" Being that she was telepathic, she had to have sensed that a good portion of his mind had been screaming that kissing her was wrong. In fact, the only way she couldn't have heard him was if her own thoughts were so loud that they'd overpowered his. That wasn't at all his fault, and he was insulted at the implication that he'd ever make her do anything against her will. He certainly hadn't _asked_ her to nearly rip his hair out.

"This!" She lightly touched her lips and turned away from him. _"Don't make me choose."_

He wasn't sure if she'd meant for him to hear that, but that seemed to clearly be the end of the conversation. Logan inhaled her ginger-cinnamon scent and frowned. She would only have to choose if she thought that Logan was offering himself to her. While that hadn't been his intention at all in kissing her, it seemed that he'd somehow done exactly that.

_Can I do _anything _right?_

He tried not to grumble out loud at his misfortune as he took a slow step away from her, giving her a little breathing room. She nodded appreciatively and Logan popped his cigar back into his mouth. During their 'discussion' it had burned halfway down, and he bit back another growl. He tossed it into the darkness, too annoyed to care that it was his last one.

After a few moments of silence, Logan had decided to leave Jean alone to her thoughts. He crawled into his tent and flopped down hard on his back, pulling out his dog tag. He knew that he should be sleeping, but he didn't even try. His mind was too busy to allow sleep, so he twirled his only clue to his past between his fingers, as though physical contact – or glaring at it – might inspire some miraculous revelation.

He paused momentarily to listen to a conversation outside, but lost interest when he realized that it was just Kurt and Mystique. (Had he just heard Kurt call Mystique _mother_?) He had enough problems of his own without listening in on yet another conversation that had nothing to do with him. He was spent, and it was only ten o'clock.

In his annoyance, he'd tossed away his last cigar, and he was already regretting it. A beer sounded great at the moment, but he tried not to dwell on the thought. He knew for a fact that the _Blackbird_ didn't have any, and there probably wasn't a bar for miles. Magneto struck him as the type to prefer wine, if he carried alcohol on his person, and from Mystique he expected nothing less than poison. Just the thought of the look she'd given him when he'd all but kissed the ground made him grimace.

He looked up and groaned inwardly when he saw a shadow outside his tent. Before he could tell whoever it was to beat it, Jean slid into his tent with a look of longing and mischief that he'd never seen in her eyes before.

XX

Storm stood outside her tent, still as stone. Logan had just _kissed _Jean. As if life weren't already hard enough for her... Storm calmed herself down before the roll of thunder could start. She was just going to have to talk with him.

"Logan!" she called when he was in front of his tent. He looked up at her, curious as to why she was calling him. "Walk with me."

Logan did, and Storm knew that it was probably just to stay on her good side. Rogue had told her that Logan had jumped when he saw the flicker of lightning from her eyes. "What was that back there?"

"What was what?" Logan asked.

"Logan, I _saw _you."

Logan looked down and sighed. "Oh, _that._ I can't really explain it..."

Storm sighed. She knew that Logan had eyes for Jean since his arrival at the Mansion, but that didn't mean he could start kissing her when Scott wasn't around. "Look, I'm not saying I understand what you're going through, but Scott and Jean are my oldest friends. And if you hurt them- _especially _Jean, who's like a sister to me- I will strike you with a lightning bolt so hard, it'll erase your memory again, and you won't remember a thing. I really don't want to have to do that."

With that, she went back to her tent.

XX

Logan stood where he was, dumbstruck.

"What just happened between you two?" someone asked. He turned around to see that it was Hawk, and she covered her mouth. "Oh! That's why. You sure are lucky I wasn't around when that happened."

"Are you reading my thoughts again?"

"It was either that, or ask Storm who probably isn't in the mood to talk about that."

"And why am I lucky you weren't around?"

"For one thing, I'm a christian and, secondly, I have strong morals about things like this. More than likely, I would've tried to roast you. Why else do you think I roll my eyes or scoff? Storm agrees with me on that basic level, but she shoots me the looks, reminding me that I can't control it. As if I need the reminder."

Logan sighed. He really didn't need a chat with the most obnoxious teenager in the group. "I think it's time to head for bed." He said heading for the tent.

"Whatever you say."

XX

Hawk was about to head inside her tent, when she saw Jean walk by. _What the...? _she thought. Jean was headed for Logan's tent. She probed the older woman's thoughts and realized who it really was. This put her into a tight spot. If she told Storm, she would get in trouble, and the others would probably just laugh at the thought of it. She followed.

When the woman stopped, Hawk hid beside Storm's tent, where she was out of Logan's sensing range, completely hidden, but she had a perfect view of what was going on.

XX

Logan inhaled slowly and then sighed, wondering if he ought to indulge her or if he should kick her out like he knew he should. Tonight was getting to be too complicated for him. "Look…"

She silenced him with a finger against his lips and then straddled him, settling her weight on his hips. She pushed him back until he was lying down with her on top and he didn't stop her. She covered his lips with her own and he didn't stop her. She ran her hands up and down his chest, her touch electrifying, and he didn't stop her. He knew that he should. His entire body was rejecting her advances, but a small voice in the back of his mind reminded him of what Ororo had said.

His hands slid up her sides as he internally debated. He could let go. He could give way to this fantasy…

No, he couldn't. He pulled away, knowing his answer as he bushed the scar on her abdomen where he'd stabbed her six weeks ago.

XX

Hawk watched as they kissed. "Eww!" Then they stopped and Jean turned into Mystique.

XX

"Busted," Mystique said with a coy smirk as she shifted into her blue form. Her yellow eyes, as always, raised the hairs on the back of his neck. Kissing Jean and Mystique had been a mistake, and going farther than that would be another mistake altogether, one that he didn't intend to make. "No one's ever left a scar quite like you," she whispered.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "What do you want, and apology?"

She chuckled, much as he would, as she leaned down and whispered hotly in his ear, "I think you know what _I_ want." She bit down on his lobe, hard and sexy, and sat up straight, shifting her position just enough to make her intentions and desires unmistakable. She shifted her form again until Logan was staring up at Marie, wearing only a black bra and panties and covering herself demurely.

Of all the things in the world that could absolutely kill Logan's sex drive, this was at the top of that list. He'd never felt more impotent in his life. He made a face and looked away in disgust.

She used her strength – and she was quite strong – to gently but firmly turn his eyes back to her, but she had shifted form again. Brown hair became white, pale skin became dark, green eyes became blue, and the black lingerie faded into flesh.

Now he was looking up at Ororo. His breath caught. She gave him an evil smile as she lifted her arms to spread her hair wide across her shoulders. His view of her was unobstructed – and what a view it was! He swallowed hard.

"Is _this_ what you want?" she purred in Ororo's voice.

Against every instinct in his body, he wanted to kiss her again, not caring that she'd smell like blueberry rather than rainforest. He could hardly breathe anyhow, so the possibility of her scent annoying him was almost nonexistent. He wanted to tell her that she was a stronger person for everything that she'd ever endured. He wanted to tell her that, despite John's occasional bad behavior, she had done a good job raising him.

He reached for her. He wanted her so badly that it made him ache from the inside out. He wanted her more than his life, more than his _past_.

_No,_ a small voice in the back of his mind said, coaxing him back to earth before he did something foolish. _I want _her_, not Mystique._

His indecision seemed to make her rethink being in Ororo's form, and she morphed back into Jean. That finally snapped Logan out of his daze and he sat up, roughly shoving her back. He struggled to regain some small piece of mind while Mystique righted herself from her inelegant landing.

He could give himself a hundred reasons why it would be okay and even sensible to indulge in this fantasy, but each and every one had the same downfall: this wasn't Ororo. It was only a glimpse of what could be between him and Ororo, if life were more fair.

And he wasn't going to settle for a glimpse.

She glared hatefully at him and morphed into Stryker, doing the old man's chillingly evil smile justice. "What do you _really _want?"

He scowled at her. She knew that he wanted to remember who Stryker was, and she was throwing it in his face because she was bitter about being rejected. Was this how Ororo had had felt when he'd mentioned T'Challa after she'd refused to kiss him? He shivered, feeling that perhaps he might understand her anger. "I want you to get out," he growled.

She morphed back into her blue form before sneering at him and storming out of the tent. He rubbed his eyes. "Damn," he muttered, lying back down as soon as he was sure that Mystique was gone.

If Mystique hadn't morphed back into Jean, he might had wrestled with his desires for a few more seconds before saying to hell with it and sleeping with her. He shivered again.

Everything about this night had gone horribly wrong. He'd betrayed Ororo's trust, he'd kissed Jean, he'd seen into one of her memories, he knew that she had a crush on him, he knew that she was pregnant, and he'd almost slept with Mystique. _Not a good night for me,_ he decided.

XX

Hawk watched as Mystique turned into Storm, and if that weren't bad enough, she turned into Rogue- _As if **that **would work-_ then went back to Jean.

Logan pushed her off, then she shifted into a slightly plump middle-aged man... that looked vaguely familiar to her.

There was a crunch of grass behind her, but Hawk was didn't notice until the person spoke. "What are you doing?"

Hawk nearly jumped out of her skin. "Whoa!" She turned and saw Storm standing there with her arms crossed, waiting for an explanation.

"Uh... Can I not answer?"

"No."

"Can I pass?"

"No."

Hawk sighed. She was in for it now. "I saw Jean-"

Mystique came out of Logan's tent, and realization came to Storm. "You thought you saw Jean, but it was really Mystique, right?"

Hawk nodded. Then Storm got suspicious. "How did you figure ti out? You weren't using your telepathy again, were you?"

"Trick question?"

"Hawk..."

"What? I knew Jean was on the jet, but I wanted to be sure. Besides, you really _don't _want to know what she did to try and entice him."

"Tell me."

"Your funeral. After she was busted, she shifted into you, then Rogue, then back to Jean again."

Storm was _definitely _angry. The air became charged, and there was a roll of thunder off in the distance.

"Told you."

"Hawk, get inside the tent, _now._"

Hawk darted for her tent, knowing now was _not _a good time to mess with Storm- not that she ever would anyway.


	11. Chapter 13

He let it go for the time being and closed the hatch when Bobby and Marie finally climbed on board. As Marie passed Magneto and Mystique, they smiled widely to her; the kind of smile you'd expect from family.

"We _love_ what you've done with your hair," Magneto said.

She froze, every muscle in her body as tight as a drawn bow. It stilled Logan as well. He heard a vicious snarl in the bottom of her throat before Bobby hurriedly said, "Hey, let's go. Come on," and pulled her away.

Logan caught her wrist as she passed and gave it a reassuring squeeze as she sat down. She smiled calmly back at Logan. "They can kiss my ass," she said, returning the squeeze. Logan nodded, satisfied. His Marie was stronger than such pettiness.

Jean and Ororo each took turns piloting the jet while the other donned her X-Man uniform. Logan watched the pilot like a hawk, sure that at any moment something would groan and the jet would snap in half. He hardly felt safe being on the _Blackbird_ – especially after yesterday's episode – and having Magneto aboard brought him no amount of comfort. The old man certainly wouldn't let himself crash and die, but where did that leave the rest of them?

Once Jean and Ororo had both changed, Logan found that his own uniform – perfectly patched, much to his surprise – was in the jet as well. He was able to pull it on in only a few minutes, and he happily realized that he wasn't wearing his old suit at all, but a much lighter suit with material that breathed much better and wasn't nearly as tight. It looked identical, but Jean had no doubt made the necessary changes after his struggle with his last suit. Or perhaps she'd just told someone that changes needed to be made. He'd have to thank her, whenever she began speaking to him again.

He came out of the small changing space, tugging at his gloves to test the flexibility of the material. Magneto and Mystique still sat in the very back of the jet, whispering nonsense to each other. John sat near them, flicking his Zippo lighter open and closed and staring off into space. Ororo seemed to be piloting the jet, Jean was her copilot, Kurt was quietly praying in German, and Bobby and Marie were standing by the display case, admiring the manikin that had recently been stripped of a uniform.

"Why don't we get uniforms?" she asked wistfully.

"Yeah," Bobby agreed. "Where's ours?"

"They're on order," Logan said dismissively. "They should arrive in a few years."

Logan replied, turning his back to the disappointed teens and pushing the now empty display back into the wall. He dropped into his seat, clutching the armrests while constantly reminding himself that Ororo was a competent pilot. She'd ducked and dodged two fighter jets the day before – while maintaining about fifteen angry tornadoes, at that. Surely she could handle cruising in clear skies.

"They say you're the bad guy," John said, snapping his lighter shut – or open. Logan wasn't quite sure anymore, but he found that the noise didn't annoy him as much as it had the day before. _Give it time…_

"Is that what they say," Magneto replied conversationally. The tone in his voice implied that he would be happy to end the conversation there, but Logan knew better. For John, _any_ silence was uncomfortable.

"That's a dorky-looking helmet you got there. What's it for?"

"This 'dorky-looking' helmet is the only thing that's going to protect me from the _real_ bad guys." There was a thoughtful silence, and Magneto continued speaking after a moment. "What's your name?"

"John."

"What's your _real_ name, John?"

There was another moment of silence before the smell of gasoline filled Logan's lungs. "Pyro," the youth replied, as though in a trance. Logan didn't have to turn around to know that John was probably cradling a flame in his hand. It was the first time that he'd heard John's codename, but anyone could have guessed that it had something to do with fire. He couldn't say that he was particularly surprised.

"Quite a talent you have, Pyro," Magneto said appreciatively.

"A talent is a gift," John replied flatly. "Gifts can be returned."

"That's one way to look at it."

"I didn't know that there were any fancy places like Xavier's until I was sixteen. Most of what I know about my powers I had to teach myself before then. I used to think that it was a curse, but once I learned to control it, I began to think of it as a power, an advantage that I'd been given over humanity. But I can only manipulate the fire. I can't create it." His last statement was laced with disappointment.

"You are a god among insects," Magneto said firmly. "Never let anyone tell you different."

Logan stood from his seat, turning to the back of the jet and glaring at Magneto, who gave him a harmless smile. "Stop recruiting," Logan snapped.

Magneto chuckled. "You X-Men always insist on holding your students back from their full potential," he said in a chiding tone. "Has it ever occurred to you that the only reason you ever win is simply because there are more of you?"

"All the more reason to assume that you're recruiting," Logan replied.

"They don't hold us back," Marie protested. "I've learned more about my powers in the past six weeks then I learned when I was on the run for an entire year."

"Dear child, all that proves is that you're not competent when it comes to teaching yourself."

Logan felt his lip curl up. His anger drowned out his discomfort of being in the sky, and he almost took a threatening step closer to Magneto. It may be beneficial to have Magneto with them when they stormed Stryker's base, but they could certainly do it without him.

Magneto turned back to John, seemingly uninterested in anything that had to do with Logan or Marie. "The fact that you were able to teach yourself most of what you know about your powers is a great complement to your knowledge capacity. I, myself, am self taught about the use of my powers, and look how powerful I've become." Oh yes. Magneto was stroking John's ego in all the right places. "Just think of how much more you'd know if you were still experimenting with your powers and pushing your own limits instead of theirs? Think of how powerful you'd be right now if you'd continued to study something as simple as the science of fire rather than letting Charles talk you out of it."

"Knock it off. His ego is already too big for the jet!"

The look on John's face, however, suggested that victory was Magneto's. Even if he didn't open his mouth again for the remainder of their time together – Logan _highly_ doubted that – the gears in John's head were already turning over everything that Magneto had told him.

It suddenly occurred to him that Magneto was somewhat correct in his accusation of the X-Men holding the students back. Xavier himself had said that John needed 'careful teaching.' But it was for his own good, wasn't it? If he got too power crazed at such a young age, there was no telling what havoc he'd wreak, especially considering his past. But not teaching him to his full potential took away his choice, and not having a choice was a sure way to inspire rebellion.

Logan could understand why the children might be frustrated at the prospect of being held back. Certainly Marie would want to know the extent of her power so that she'd know how to better control the potency of her touch. And, being that John couldn't create fire, he was probably eager to try creating it. Someone like him would test plenty of different theories to get the answers that he wanted.

And Logan wanted his memories. What harm could there be in knowing your past, even if you can't remember it? Teachers preached up and down about history and being doomed to repeat it…

Even Jean seemed to still be discovering just how powerful she was, though Logan couldn't begin to guess why she was so far behind. Perhaps it wasn't even his place to jump into the conversation. Bobby seemed to have faith in the X-Men. Marie, although a little miffed about Xavier's technique, also seemed to believe that it was truly for her benefit. Logan didn't doubt that John felt betrayed at the thought of being held back. He'd felt much the same when Magneto had told him what he'd wanted to know about his past without all the bullshit of trying to figure it out on his own.

"Are you quite alright, Wolverine?"

Logan blinked and glared at Magneto. Marie, Bobby, Magneto, and Mystique had all been watching him wrap himself around his thoughts. John looked equally lost in his own mind, and Logan finally sat down when he realized that trying to talk to John would be useless. He needed some time with his thoughts. By the time they were done with all this business with Stryker, hopefully he'd be up to listening to their reasoning for holding him back – _if_ that was what they were doing. Ororo would certainly explain it best, and Logan knew that John would put her word over Magneto's.

All they needed was some time to talk it out. Once they were done with this mission at Alkali Lake, he'd tell Ororo to talk to John.

"We'll be there in about twenty minutes," Jean announced.

"Good," Logan said, sitting back in his seat. He was anxious for some answers, and Stryker was going to give them to him, whether he wanted to or not.

As it turned out, having Magneto and Mystique on board was somewhat useful. When they were near enough to see the dam in the distance, she boredly pointed out that Stryker had modified his scanning systems to pick up the _Blackbird_, despite its stealth capabilities. With an amused chuckle, Magneto asked how they would have gotten in without him as he used his power to deflect the radar pulses before they reached the aircraft.

Somehow, Logan knew that they'd need more than that. He didn't know how he knew, but he wasn't one to argue with a gut instinct. He stood behind Ororo and tapped her shoulder lightly. She turned her head slightly in his direction, but didn't look at him. "Yes?"

"I don't think Stryker's scanners are only looking to detect our stealth settings," he said quietly. He knew that she was still mad at him, and though he knew that she wasn't the type to let her anger get in the way of a mission, that didn't mean that he had to pretend that they were just fine. A small part of him knew that she'd appreciate that.

She didn't move right away, possibly turning that statement over in her mind. Jean turned to him as well. "You mean…"

"Thermal scanners," Ororo finished, turning to Logan. He gave her a nod and she did the same, her eyes clouding over with white.

Satisfied, he returned to his seat. He didn't need to be told that she was smoothing the air behind them to counteract the heat from the jet's exhaust. She was a smart woman and, on occasion, he was a smart man.

The closer they got, the trickier Ororo's piloting became. She skimmed treetops when she had to and dropped beneath branches when she could. Helicopter pilots would have thought twice about some of her maneuvers. Jean seemed to be feeling around ahead of them with her telepathy, because every now and then she'd warn Ororo of an upcoming lookout to avoid or a patch of trees that was too dense to fly through.

Logan felt pretty useless, aside from his one piece of advice, but when they finally landed, he personally made sure that the stealth netting was perfect and that the internal systems were kept to a minimum. Perhaps no one else thought much of it, but if the children were going to stay with the jet, they needed as much help as they could get to avoid detection.

When he was done, he joined the rest of the group in the back of the jet. They'd used Stryker's stolen data from Mystique to construct a three-dimensional map of the base and had projected it as a hologram. After a few seconds of staring at it, Logan recognized an oval of land that had been stripped bare of trees. He'd been there only two days ago, thinking that the base was gone, along with any trace of his memories. Looking back, two days seemed like such a long time ago…

"Surface scans are cold," Ororo said with an air of authority that couldn't be ignored. Even Magneto seemed to be giving her his undivided attention. "No electronic emissions, no power, no heat signatures, nothing. Obviously, we know different." She tapped the control keypad in front of her and the scene changed, showing a different perspective of the base. "That first image was a topographic representation of the area. This one" – she pointed to various points on the display – "is the spillway. See all the density changes in the terrain? They're tire tracks." Hawk stood next to Storm, closer to where Bobby, Rogue, Kurt and John were sitting.

Magneto stood on the other side of where they were, and Mystique was a little farther back and left.

"That's the entrance," Logan said.

Storm nodded. "Mm-hm." She hit a few more buttons and focused more on the spillway. Below the dam, it showed various shades of blue, whereas the surrounding landscape was white. "And this shows the depth of ice that's covering the ground." She hit another button. "Now, this is recent water activity."

"If we go in there, Stryker could flood the spillway," Jean translated from the co-pilot's seat in the cockpit.

Storm turned to Kurt. "Can you teleport inside?"

He shook his head in disappointment. "No. I have to be able to see vhere I'm going; othervise I could vind up inside a vall."

"I'll go," Logan said casually. Everyone turned to look at him. "I have a hunch that he'll want me alive."

"Wolverine," Magneto said, stepping forward toward him. "whoever goes into that dam needs to be able to operate the spillway mechanism. What do you intend to do? Scratch it with your claws?"

Logan advanced narrowed eyes. "I'll take my chances."

The look of humor on Magneto's face disappeared as quickly as it had come. "But _I_ won't."

He turned to Mystique, and Storm also turned to her, catching on. and she grinned, morphing in Logan.

"I'm going with her," Hawk said.

"No, you're not," Storm said firmly. "You're staying here with the others."

_C'mon, Storm, _Hawk said telepathically. _You know I can do it!_

_Hawk, there are automatic weapons in there! You and I **both **know that if you take a bullet to the head, you will not be able to recover._

_And you and I **also **know that if I shift into Mara Jade- or Shaak Ti- that it will be almost impossible to catch me._

Both females moved their hands around for emphasis on what they were saying to each other. They didn't really have to; they just did it for show. Mainly._  
><em>

XX

Wolverine walked down the spillway as though she were a monarch of all she surveyed, without a care in the world and even less to fear. "Stryker! It's Wolverine! Aren't you going to welcome me home?"

the tunnel wall opened and troops with heavy automatic assault shotguns surrounded Mystique/Wolverine. "Don't move! Hands in the air!"

She slowly did as she was told, and a few more troops came forward and used a device to shackle her knuckles up tight against her neck. No doubt the idea was that any use of the claws would cause Wolverine to decapitate himself

"The one thing I know better than anyone is my own work," Stryker hissed. "Seal the room and shoot it."

"Seal the room," someone shouted.

"Step away," said another.

The various clicks of guns being taken off of safety could be heard before a beat of silence as the troops seemed to process that order. It was a beat too long, because Mystique was already in action.

In a blur of movement, Mystique returned to her natural form and was free of the shackles. She jumped and twirled in midair and tossed the shackles with impossible speed, and four troops were laid out in the blink of an eye. The rest of the troops with guns aimed at her didn't open fire, too afraid that they'd hit each other. The few shots that were fired missed her, and one of them must have hit some cables. The lights flickered and they could only hear thumps and thuds and groaning.

XX

As Mystique shifted back to herself, Hawk did the same, but automatically shifted into Jedi Master Shaak Ti. She grabbed her lightsaber, and then began to swing at bullets, while using the montrals to sense where they were and dodge them.

Twisting and turning, she jumped and dodged, and pretty much sliced up the bullets. Mystique let go of the person she was using as a shield, and dropped to the floor; sliding across it through some doors. Hawk jumped through them sideways.

Mystique seemed impressed. "Nice."

"Thanks, you too. Wish I could do stuff like that without shifting, but it's impossible.

XX

"We have _two_ metamorphs on the loose. They could be anybody!" Stryker said to the officer.

"Anybody?" The officer asked.

Hawk dropped and kicked one guard while Mystique struck both officers and closed the door, blowing Stryker a kiss. Then she sat down on the console.

"I'm in," she said.

"We're in," Hawk added.

XX

On the jet, everyone else was monitoring their progress. Storm tensed a little when she heard only Mystique's voice. "I'm in."

"We're in," Hawk said with her usual spunkyness. Storm let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, and looked at Logan who was standing behind her.

"She's good," he conceded.

"You have _no_ idea," he said with a smirk, assuming he had been talking about Mystique.

As they headed for the ramp, Logan stopped Storm. "Hey," he said. Storm stopped and turned to look at him. "I also meant Hawk."

Storm chuckled slightly. "You have no idea, Logan. She gets most of her practice with eavesdropping when she's not supposed to. But, why didn't you say they were both good?"

"Wanted him to keep a little bit of his pride," Logan replied indicating Magneto.

Storm laughed at the irony.

"Let us help," John said. Though Marie and Bobby had been pretending that he didn't exist since the day before, they stood on either side of him now, nodding emphatically.

"You're not helping with anything! Not out in there. We need you here. If anything happens to us, activate the escape-and-evade flight sequence that's programmed into the autopilot. You know how. Don't touch any of the controls, on the ground or in the air. The autopilot will fly you home just fine."

"So you want us to abandon you?" he accused. "Then what?"

"You've all got superpowers," he said shortly. "Figure it out."


	12. Chapter 14

Hawk watched as Mystique typed in codes she got from who knows where. Then she looked up, and Hawk followed. They saw a camera with the kidnapped children- one of them being her friend Jubilation Lee. She picked up on Mystique's thoughts and sighed inwardly. _Great, _she thought.

They both turned when they heard an explosion from the doors.

XX

Mystique turned back to what she was doing and quickly opened the spillway doors.

XX

It took a couple of minutes to reach the spillway doors. Storm's eyes clouded over with white as wind and lightning surrounded her. She was a few inches off the ground when the doors finally opened and Logan could smell fear and hear the pulses of all of the troops spike. Logan smirked. _Showtime!_

XX

Magneto, strangely, knew exactly where they were going, and led the way down the various halls that were every bit as confusing as the ones in the basement of the X-Men mansion. Perhaps Stryker had made them that way on purpose, because Ororo and Jean made no comment as to why Magneto might know exactly where he was leading them. Logan and Kurt trailed behind the three without question.

They rounded a corner that seemed like so many others, but this time the hall wasn't empty. Guards snapped into action and immediately began firing. Magneto and Jean stood their ground, each throwing up an arm. Magneto stopped the bullets in midair while Jean pushed four of the eight guards into the solid metal door behind them. The other four were lifted off the ground and hit the ceiling with loud thuds and fell roughly to the ground.

The first few gunshots had pushed Logan's instincts into overdrive and he pulled Ororo out of the line of fire without thinking. He was vaguely aware of her pushing against his arm, but he held her still with little effort. She finally sent a snap of electricity up his spine and he jumped, releasing her with a mumbled apology. She didn't seem the least bit fazed, only nodded in thanks.

Magneto waved a finger effortlessly and the metal door popped from its frame like a cork from a bottle. Inside, Mystique spun around in her chair, smiling widely at Magneto and giving him a heartfelt round of applause.

XX

"What are you doing?" Hawk asked as Mystique continued to type.

"None of your business," she retorted. Hawk rolled her eyes.

They both turned- Mystique rather abruptly- when there was a loud creak. Hawk kept her face impassive. She knew who it was.

Mystique got up from her chair, and tensely stood where she was. There was an explosion, and Hawk held up her hand in front of her face, while Mystique flinched in the same manner.

Magneto, Storm, and Logan stood in the doorway. Jean was standing next to Logan as she pushed the two soldiers she had to the wall. Storm and Magneto stepped in first.

The brisk manner in which Magneto entered suggested that he was in no mood for games. "Have you found it?" he demanded, stepping first onto the platform where the females were. Kurt followed with Storm behind him, followed by Jean. _So much for ladies first, _Hawk thought.

The blue mutant spun back around and hit a few buttons on the keyboard and pointed to one of the various monitors in front of them. "A large portion of energy has been diverted to this chamber." She tapped on one of the many screens to indicate a sector that had no video capability.

"Cerebro," Storm said. Hawk scooted over to join her.

"There it is," Magneto said.

"Can you shut it down from here?" Storm asked.

Mystique rolled her eyes. "No."

"Come," Magneto said to Mystique. "There's little time."

"Not without us," Jean said firmly.

Mystique hit a key, then she and Magneto looked at each other.

"Oh my gosh," Storm said, stepping forward. "The children!"

Hawk glared at the indigo woman. _That's low, _she sent to Mystique. She knew that if Storm saw them that she would go off and rescue them in a heartbeat.

Storm turned to Kurt."Kurt, will you come with me?"

"Yes," Kurt replied.

"Where are they?" Storm asked Mystique.

"They're being held in a containment cell one level down."

"Alright, we'll get the children and meet you three at Cerebro." Storm looked at Hawk, and she knew Hawk knew she was going with Storm.

"Okay," Jean replied. "I'll try to find Scott and the professor."

"Will you be alright without us?"

"Yeah," she replied, looking directly at Magneto. "I'll be fine."

Storm looked around, realizing someone was missing. "Where's Logan?"

"He's gone," Jean said quietly.

XX

He caught Stryker's scent after a few turns and followed it, not bothering to look where he was going. After a few minutes, his nose lead him to the room of his nightmares.

The first thing he noticed were the various scratch marks on the walls. He popped his claws out of his knuckles and held it up to one of the scratches. A perfect fit, as he knew it would be. But something about seeing his claws matched to the marks made it much more real. He'd been here. His claws had been created _here. He_ had been created here.

He pulled himself away from the wall and spotted the tank that he'd been lowered into in every one of his nightmares. He had flashbacks of drowning in the water but being unable to die, being injected with the hot metal, opening his mouth to scream and having his lungs fill with water…

He heard echoes of screams, smelled blood as though it had just been spilled. He'd fought his way out of this place, of that he could be certain. He inhaled slowly and pulled his claws back into his knuckles, moving on to examine the tools

The needles he'd been injected with were on one side of the tank, monitors were on the other side, and at the far end of the tank was a boiling metal. He frowned and examined it. He sniffed the metal and his frown deepened. He never thought anything about the scent, because it had always been a part of him. Even boiling a few feet away from him, the smell didn't stand out that much.

Yet the entire scene made him shiver. At last, he knew where his nightmares came from.

Logan heard Stryker's approach from out in the hall, but didn't acknowledge it. The strong smell of wheat prompted him to finally look up, and he saw that Stryker had a mutant with him. She was the beautiful woman in the business suit that had been trailing behind Stryker. It was a sure bet that, despite her small frame, she was Stryker's bodyguard. She stood back, her hands clasped behind her back with a look of indifference. Stryker, however, strolled up to Logan as though they were old pals.

"You know," Stryker said from across the room, "the tricky thing about adamantium is that, if you ever manage to process its raw, liquid form, you need to keep it that way. Keep it hot, keep it molten. Because once the metal cools…" He stood face to face with Logan with an evil smile. "It's indestructible. But you already knew that, didn't you?"

Stryker then took a few steps back, eying Logan's clenched fists with caution. "I used to think you were one of a kind, Wolverine. I truly did." He continued backing up, but the sharply dressed Asian woman stood her ground. Stryker retreated into a hall and pushed a button, closing the door. He looked at the woman and gave her a deliberate nod. She gave him a curt nod in return and loudly cracked her knuckles, while Stryker continued to retreat with a smile. "I guess I was wrong. This is my loyal assistant, Yuriko, or Lady Deathstrike, if you prefer. You mutants are so fond of your codenames, or at least you were when you picked yours."

Logan blindly advanced on Stryker, hoping to stop the door from closing completely. Not that the door would be much trouble. Cutting it apart wasn't a problem for him, but the solid mass that prevented him from reaching Stryker was a _definite _problem. Lady Deathstrike shoved him and he flew back a good ten feet, his back colliding with a support column.

Stone and powder lightly rained on him as he scrambled back to his feet, his vision already tinted red. His claws jumped out of his knuckles as he growled at her. He had no interest in her, only her boss, but if she wanted trouble, he'd make it short and final.

But instead of being surprised by Logan's claws, Lady Deathstrike looked bored, as though that sort of thing happened everyday in her world. Logan was used to the reaction he got from other people when they saw his claws for the first time, but now he got to experience that shock for himself. She spread her fingers wide and her nails elongated into ten-inch spikes. He didn't need to be told what they were made out of.

"Holy shit," were his first words. Somehow, he got the feeling that those two words didn't quite cover it.

Lady Deathstrike smiled at Logan, but it wasn't a human expression. In fact, nothing about her seemed human or even close to it. She was a predator, and all others were her prey.

She jumped into the air, spinning like a tornado with her arms stretched out. Her lethal nails made the air hiss until they caught Logan's cheek, cutting him. With his claws at full extension, Logan threw a punch at her. She ducked out of reach of his claws and stabbed him in the abdomen, knocking them both to the ground. He gasped in pain for half a second before taking a shallow breath and blocking it out. She rolled away from him and was on her feet in one swift movement. Logan scrambled to his feet to go after her.

She ran straight for the wall and used it as a springboard to flip herself up and over his head. All five spikes of her right hand pierced into his back and she cart wheeled over him, using the momentum to throw him clear across the room. He hit a cement support beam and fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

Logan lifted himself off the ground and cracked his neck irritably, feeling the wounds close and his vision steadily becoming redder. As she charged at him, he caught her in the stomach and slammed her into another support beam. She managed to pull away as he tried to slice her in half, but he just settled for stabbing her in the stomach again with his other set of claws. She finally stilled, gasping in pain. He pulled out and stabbed her a third time, satisfied when she cried out in pain.

She held herself still for a few seconds, but just as Logan was going to let her slump to the floor and bleed out, she looked up into his eyes and smiled, raising the hairs on the back of his neck. Before his eyes, the scratches on her face closed as though they'd never been there, and her steel grey eyes locked with his.

She had the ability to heal too.

_Damn it!_

As much as he hated to admit it, Stryker and Magneto had been smart to choose women as their bodyguards. Women were loyal, ruthless protectors, and it seemed that every woman he'd met in the past month and a half could kick his ass.

Lady Deathstrike was no exception. He had strength and a fair share of agility, but Lady Deathstrike seemed to posses speed that he couldn't hope to match. Coupled with the fact that she possessed a healing factor every bit as effective as his, the chances of this fight not ending in death were slim to none.

She grabbed his wrists – which were still embedded in her stomach – and climbed up his body until her heels were on either side of his face. She jerked all of her weight to the side and spun away from him, one of her sharp heels clipping Logan in the eye. He staggered back, reeling from the hot pain before shaking it off to see that she'd landed gracefully and was advancing again.

She tackled him before he was even aware that she was running and they both went sailing across the room, crashing into glass and stabbing each other as they rolled on the ground.

Logan pulled them both to their feet but Lady Deathstrike was quicker to recover from it and kicked him in the face, sending him spinning. She stabbed him multiple times, carefully choosing to connect with soft tissue instead of bone. He howled in pain, jumping away from her. She hadn't expected him to pull back, and one of her strikes missed. Seizing the opportunity, he grabbed her wrist and elbowed her in the face with all his strength.

She hissed in pain and pulled out of his reach as he tried to pick her up. Instead, she stabbed him in the middle of his back and lifted him off the ground. Stars erupted behind his eyes and when they finally cleared, he was laying on a rusty metal rack. He caught sight of the tank a good five feet below him and realized that she must have thrown him up there.

Before he could roll off, he heard the rack groan with the added weight of her hanging beneath it. She gripped his throat to hold him still and began viciously stabbing him, her nails never once touching any of his metal laced bones. After about seven strikes, he lost count in his haze of pain. He blinked hard, trying not to black out.

He reached out and sliced the chains that were holding the rack in the air. They both fell, but Logan landed above water while Lady Deathstrike crashed into the tank. He didn't hear her moving, and decided that he might have a quick second to recover. Even if he did want move, it wasn't going to happen too soon.

He coughed and sputtered, tasting blood in his mouth from where she'd punctured his lungs. He tried focusing on healing his wounds, but there were so many that his insides were torn to ribbons. When he did finally manage to roll over, Lady Deathstrike jumped out of the water, pushing the rack up and stabbing his sides, causing Logan to see stars again. She pulled them out and plunged them in again. Logan opened his mouth to scream, but only blood came out.

She kept pushing the rack up, until finally it was almost vertical. Logan flailed his arms and pulled away from her, falling into the tank. He gasped and his lungs filled with water…

_He felt the searing pain of boiling metal being injected into his bones. He tried to scream, but he couldn't breathe this time. Water filled his lungs and the pain only got worse…_

Logan reared up immediately, eyes wide as his nightmare flashed before his eyes, causing his mind to riot. Dazed and clumsy, he was at the end of his rope. Lady Deathstrike sprang onto the lip of the tank with a ballerina's grace, flashing Logan a triumphant smile while he stared with wide, fear-filled eyes.

As she moved to strike him, he felt a surge of wild energy and was out of her reach faster than _her_ eyes could follow. She blinked, but Logan had already snatched up a syringe and plunged it into her heart. She recoiled and looked down at the needle in horror as Logan pressed the button to inject the liquid.

As the molten metal began oozing out of her eyes and mouth, she looked up at him in confusion. Her hard silver eyes became a warm brown and Logan realized that this must have been one of Stryker's 'methods of persuasion.' Yuriko – he was positive that she was no longer in her Lady Deathstrike mode – probably didn't even know who Stryker was.

Her eyes burned into his soul, not accusing, just confused. She stopped breathing as metal began to leak out of her nose and mouth. Logan closed his eyes tightly and looked away as he pulled the needle out of her chest, tossing it away as though it had burned him. He heard Yuriko slip back into the water and a metal thud at the bottom of the tank confirmed that she was truly dead.

He climbed out of the tank and slumped to the ground, panting heavily. She had been innocent. He wasn't sure what kind of magic Stryker had worked on her, but she'd been under some sort of influence, and she had paid for his arrogance and pride with her life. Magneto at least gave Mystique the choice to defend him to the death, and she did so willingly.

He was positive that the look in Yuriko's eyes would haunt his dreams for years. He shuddered and focused on trying to heal himself for a few minutes. He needed to find Stryker, but his need to heal was greater. There was no doubt in his mind that he'd find Stryker, and the old man would get what was coming to him.

XX

Storm, Hawk and Nightcrawler walked through the tunnels. They finally reached a door that led somewhere.

"Help us!" Someone cried. They turned that direction. "Someone!"

The cries got louder as they got closer.

"Jubilee?" Storm called.

"Storm," Jubilation Lee replied with obvious relief. Several of the other kids started crying to be let out.

"Okay, okay, we're comin'," Storm said. She turned to Nightcrawler, but he had already disappeared.


	13. Chapter 15

As the psi wave came on, several of the kids, along with Nightcrawler, collapsed. Storm was the only one left standing, although her breathing became irregular as pain surged through her body- especially her head. She knew that telepaths found it hard to get through to her, but this was not a telepath. Immune or not, she was affected. Eventually she also collapsed.


	14. Chapter 16

After a few deep breaths, Logan was ready to get back on his feet. He crawled to his feet slowly, wincing. He was sore all over, and he probably would be for a few days. He stepped off the platform and stumbled, falling flat on his face and clutching his head as a phantom ice pick drilled his brain.

He howled in agony, thinking that maybe it was just the sharp pain of falling to the ground that had set his entire body on fire. The pain only got worse as he writhed on the floor, and he realized that something was horribly wrong.

Every wound from the past fight reopened. Every wound he'd ever received seemed to reopen. He rolled back and forth, groaning because he was too weak to scream. He was vaguely aware that he was rolling around in a pool of his own blood, but that was the least of his worries.

He gasped for breath, spitting out more blood as his lungs punctured and deflated. His claws jumped out of his knuckles, then retracted. The punctures didn't heal. His blood sprayed out of nearly every inch of his skin. Some of the wounds were random and messy, but a few were neat and purposeful incisions, all the way to the bone.

His movements became slower as he gradually became too tired to continue thrashing about. Less movement didn't lessen the pain, but he didn't have the energy to move anymore. Time seemed to stretch. He suddenly wasn't sure if he'd been writhing for hours or for a few seconds.

As quickly as the unbearable pain came, it vanished. His entire body pulsed as his healing factor slowly kicked into gear, and within a minute or two, he was fully healed. He staggered to his feet again, losing his balance a few times. When he was finally on his feet and leaning heavily against a support beam, he glanced down at the floor and cringed.

A lake of blood stretched out at least five feet from where he'd been writhing. A few sprinkles of blood had gone as far as the beam he was leaning against. It truly looked like something out of a horror film. He looked down at himself and realized that he did too. His suit was covered with his blood, his hair was matted and dripping blood, and it was a safe bet that his face was smeared with it too.

He popped his claws and retracted them, making sure that the wounds healed quickly. When he was satisfied, he went over to the tank that Yuriko was still in, dunking his head under and shaking his head in an effort to rid himself of his blood – and possibly his nightmares. While he knew that Stryker would shit himself if Logan came after him looking like this, he didn't want to look like this when he met up with Ororo and Jean again. They'd be less than impressed with all the blood.

XX

Storm was on the floor when the wave stopped. She looked around to make sure everyone was okay. Seemed like everyone was, minus Hawk, who was still moaning. "Are you all right?"

"Stryker is going to pay for giving me a migraine," Hawk growled.

Storm gave an amused chuckle. She was all right.

XX

He emerged from the water and shook his head again, moving to the door and slashing at it until he could crawl through. Stryker was going to _beg_ for death by the time Logan was finished with him.

Logan followed the weak scent that Stryker had left behind and found that he knew where he was going. This had been his escape after they'd experimented on him. He was going outside. He reached the familiar iron door and shoved it open, his anger fueling his strength. He saw Stryker rushing about, getting ready to leave in a helicopter. Logan raced the long distance to him in a matter of seconds, hardly realizing how fast his feet were carrying him. As Stryker pulled the heady iron grounding chain off of the helicopter, Logan slammed him against the side of the craft and stabbed him in the liver. Stryker was sure to die, but not too quickly.

Stryker screeched in pain, his eyes wide with terror. Logan was seeing through a haze of red, so furious that he couldn't even smirk at the pain he was inflicting on Stryker. "I believe you were telling me something about my past?" he snarled viciously.

Panting heavily, Stryker seemed to be trying to focus but couldn't quite look at Logan. "Why did you come back?" he managed to whimper.

"You cut me open. You took my _life!_"

"You make it sound as if I stole something from you," he gasped, closing his eyes. Then he suddenly smiled. Did he still think he could get out of this alive? "As I recall, it was _you_ who volunteered for the procedure."

A cold chill ran down Logan's spine, like nothing he'd ever felt. "Who _am_ I?" he whispered.

"You're just a failed experiment." Stryker was playing every card in his hand. _Two can play that game. _Logan pulled his claws out fractionally and rammed them back in. Stryker screamed and spoke hurriedly. "If you really knew about your past… what kind of person you were… the work we did together… People don't change, Wolverine. You were an animal then and you're an animal now. I just gave you claws." He threw his head back and laughed weakly. Logan blinked hard, unable to process all that he'd just heard in such a short amount of time.

In the distance, he felt the explosion before he heard it, felt the pressure wave in the air a fraction of an instant before he heard the sound. Alarms soon began wailing loudly, and Stryker and Logan both turned to the dam.

"What the hell is that?" Logan demanded, pushing his claws in deeper.

Stryker gurgled in pain. "Some kind of rupture. The dam is going to flood water into the spillway to try to relieve the pressure, but it's too late. In a few minutes we'll all be underwater."

Logan thought rapidly. It couldn't be too late. He'd narrowly evaded death twice in the past fifteen minutes. How could he be too late? Jean was still inside. Kurt and Ororo and the children were still inside. Hell, even Magneto and Mystique were still inside!

"Come with me," Stryker said. "I know you still want answers, Wolverine. Don't you want to know how old you are? Or what your real name is? Or if you have any family? Or, if _she_ is still alive?"

That one, that last implication, hit the mark, dead center. His grip on Stryker loosened as his vision clouded. He was staring up at a beautiful woman – fair skinned with dark brown hair and the most beautiful hazel eyes he'd ever seen. She was staring down at him with a loving expression. "It means the Wolverine," she whispered with a smile.

Stryker began speaking again, and the vision was gone.

"We can just get in the helicopter and fly away. I give you my word, Wolverine, come with me and I'll tell you everything you want to know. You can't help your friends. You owe them nothing! They're as good as dead. But you're a survivor. You always have been!"

There it was. All he'd ever wanted in the past fifteen years. It was his for the taking, but it would come at a heavy price.

Even as he considered the pros and cons of going along with Stryker, he already knew his answer. He yanked Stryker close and tucked a fist under his chin. "I thought I was just an animal." He pushed his outside claws out until they were bracketing his cheeks, close enough to dent the skin but not yet break it. The air exploded with the scent of Stryker's fear, and something else; he had soiled himself. Logan smirked. "With claws."

"Just tell me what you need, Wolverine. Tell me what you _need_. Tell me what you _want_!"

It was a simple choice: did he want his past, or did he want his future? He glared down at Stryker, who was still watching him with horror filled eyes. Both men knew that Logan would like nothing more than to pop out his middle claw and use his severed head as a soccer ball.

Or, perhaps that was what the Wolverine that Stryker had known fifteen years ago wanted. Logan didn't have to be that person. Now was his chance to choose who he wanted to be.

He glanced up at the dam, where his friends were. It still showed no signs of the explosions that Logan had felt and, to the naked eye, it looked like it would stand forever. But he knew that he dam would likely crumble in the next ten minutes. If he was going to get everyone out, he needed to do it _now_.

Stryker jumped when Logan retracted his claws. "I have what I need," he growled. Stryker slumped to the ground, relieved. Logan shoved him hard against the leg of the helicopter and grabbed for a chain. He yelped in protest, but the look Logan gave him suggested that he could live a few more minutes or a few more seconds. It didn't take long to have Stryker wrapped tight in the chains, and when he was finished, he towered above the man that had made him what he was. "If we die," Logan growled, "you die."

At least this way, if they made it back in time, Logan could bring Stryker with them and he could possibly be _persuaded_ to give up the information that Logan wanted. And if they didn't make it back…

He didn't want to think about that.

He sprinted back to the dam, ignoring Stryker's frantic cries. "There are no answers that way, Wolverine! You'll kill us all!"

Hoping that that wouldn't be the case, Logan doubled his pace.

XX

A spark exploded, causing Jubilee and a couple of others to flinch- as Storm, Kurt, and everyone else walked by. "Vhat is this?" Kurt asked as they reached the end.

"Cerebro," Storm replied.

"Storm," someone called behind her. Everyone turned to see Scott, who was supporting Jean, as they came towards them.

"Jean," Storm asked when she saw her friend. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Storm turned back to Cerebro. "What's happening?"

"The Professor's still in there," Jean replied distantly as she concentrated. "With another mutant, he trapped in some kind of... illusion."

Storm jerked her head towards Jean at the mention of that.

"Oh my gosh!" Jean exclaimed after a moment. "Magneto's reversed Cerebro, it's not targeting mutants any more."

"Who is it targeting?" Storm asked. She didn't have to though, she knew the answer; but, she still had the slightest hope she was wrong.

"Everyone else."

Nope. She was right.

XX

"Everybody, stand back," Scott ordered as he unwrapped Jeans arm from around his neck.

"Scott, no," Jean countered. "His mind is connected to Cerebro. Opening the door could kill _him _and everyone else his mind is linked to."

"Wait," Storm said, turning to Kurt. "Kurt, I need you to take me inside."

"Storm," Scott cut in. "Who is this guy- who are you?"

"My name is Kurt Wagner," Kurt replied. "But in the Munich circus-"

Storm cut him off as she held two fingers to his lips. "He's a teleporter." She turned back to Kurt.

"I told you," he said, "if I can't see where I'm going..."

"I have faith in you." That made the final decision.

"Don't believe anything you see in there," Jean warned.

"Hold it," Hawk said, stepping up to Storm and Jean. "I'm coming to."

"No, you're not," Storm said firmly.

"You're going to need a telepath in there anyway!" Hawk argued. "I'm the best one there is here next to the Professor and Jean. Besides, can't get any worse than this."

"She has a point, Storm," Jean conceded.

"Isn't this mutant dangerous, though?" Storm asked Jean in a low tone.

"If he got a hold of the Professor, yes," Jean replied grimly. "But, if she has the static you have, she should be fine."

"Can you even _sense _what's going on?" Storm asked, turning back to Hawk.

"Bits and pieces. He thinks he's in the _actual _Cerebro, and thinks that he needs to concentrate harder to find us."

"Is she right?"

Jean nodded.

Kurt looked at the door, then back at Storm. He began to pray and hugged Storm. Hawk joined in from behind. Storm gave Nightcrawler a squeeze, and they were gone.

XX

"...As it is in heaven," Nightcrawler finished. He and Storm let go of each other as Hawk staggered back slightly.

"Whoa," Hawk said. "Now I know how Artie felt." She shook her head to clear it.

They all turned toward the platform where the Professor _should _have been- both he and the console were gone- and came face-to-face with a little girl who couldn't have been older than eight years old. Storm looked at her in shock.

"Hello," the little girl said. "What are you looking for?"

"Okay, it just got worse," Hawk said.

Storm looked to her right, ignoring both of them. "Professor! Can you hear me? You've got to stop Cerebro, now!"

"Who are you talking to?" the girl asked.

Nightcrawler stepped forward, but Storm stopped him. "No, don't move."

"But she's just a little girl."

Hawk gave a derisive laugh.

"No," both Storm and Hawk said. "She's not," Storm finished.

"I've got my eyes on you," the girl said.

Storm saw that they were mismatched, amber and blue. "Sure you do," Hawk retorted before turning to Storm. "Creepy!"

XX

"Kurt," Storm said, turning to him. "It's about to get _very cold _in here."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Storm," Hawk said, talking in a low tone. "You know I don't do well in the cold."

"Try to keep yourself and Kurt warm using your fire ability," Storm suggested.

Hawk nodded, and turned back to face their adversary. The girl looked a little nervous. Storm's eyes became white as she created a wind.

"What are you doing?" the girl asked.

XX

Kurt started to shiver violently as the wind got colder and stronger. Hawk, fireball in either palm, tried to use the warm air to keep him warm, but the cold was starting to become too intense. "I'm sorry, Kurt," she yelled over her shoulder as she switched to cold air and added on to Storm's wind.

It was only a small breeze though, as she monitored the Professor with her telepathy and tried to release him from the Illusionist's grasp.

XX

_Your move, _Storm thought as the girl tried to get a hold of her thoughts.

"Stop it!" she cried. Kurt was shivering even more violently now.

XX

The girl finally screamed and flickered out of sight. The other two females stopped what they were doing. Storm's eyes reverted to brown.

XX

The platform shook, and Storm, Hawk, and Nightcrawler looked around.

XX

Logan ran for the base and his friends faster than he he'd ran to the helicopter and Stryker. He ran blindly, unsure of where he might find anyone. All he needed was a scent, but no one he recognized had been anywhere near where he was right now. _All I need is a sign,_ he thought, stopping at a hall that split in four different directions. _Something. Anything!_

"_Logan,"_ Jean whispered. _"Logan, where are you?"_

"Jean?" he screeched. A spark of intuition - or perhaps desperation - prompted him to bolt straight for the first exit that came to mind; the spillway.

XX

Things fell all around them. Suddenly, a large chunk fell and headed directly for Storm and Hawk.

Nightcrawler grabbed them, and teleported them out of there. Only going back for the Professor.


	15. Chapter 17

"We have to get out through the spillway!" Storm said as she and Kurt carried the Professor.

XX

Naturally, they'd head to that exit, as it was probably the only one they knew. Right? Logan doubled his pace as he began to hear heavy breathing and frantic pulses. He'd been right. He rounded the corner and saw everyone – Scott, Jean, Kurt, Xavier, Ororo, and about seven children – hurriedly running to the spillway.

They were much closer than he was. If they made it past the threshold, they might not listen to him when he told them not to go that way. Time seemed to slow for Logan as he threw himself at the control box, stabbing it and effectively shutting the heavy iron doors. When the doors slid shut all the way, he breathed a sigh of relief, pulling his claws out before he got electrocuted. "You don't want to go that way. Trust me."

XX

The doors to the spillway closed just as the kids reached it."You don't want to go out that way," someone said behind them. They turned to who it was. Logan. "Trust me."

They all turned back to the door. Some of the water burst through it, and they all took a step back. Logan took his claws out of the machine and the last door closed. "C'mon, there's another way outta here."

Nobody hesitated to follow.

XX

Pushing the door open, Logan pointed them over the crest of the hill to the helipad. He turned back to see that the adults were moving faster now, but one of the boys - the one that had cursed at Lee and stuck his tongue out at her - had tripped on the ice and snow. Logan raced back and smoothly picked him up, rushing back to the others. He made it to the top of the hill and saw that everyone was simply standing there, staring at the empty platform.

Ororo was the first to speak. "Logan?"

Logan's heart stopped and he nearly dropped the boy in his outrage. "That helicopter was _right here!_" he screeched, looking desperately at Jean. _Stryker couldn't have taken it!_

"Magneto," she said quietly.

"That son of a _bitch_!"

The ground and air pulsed softly. Too soft for anyone else to feel, but not too soft for Logan and Ororo to notice. Both of them looked up half a second before the dam loudly groaned. In a matter of minutes, the entire thing would crumble and billions of gallons of water would be thundering down the valley, straight toward them.

Desperate times called for desperate measures. Logan turned to Ororo. "How many can you carry?" he demanded.

"I'm not sure. Two, if I don't have to carry them too far."

"What about the elf, what's-his-name? How many can he carry? How far can he jump? And Jean, can you use your power to make some kind of boat or something?"

"And what about you?" Ororo demanded.

The _Blackbird_ sailed clumsily into view and landed roughly a hundred feet away from the group with a loud thud that couldn't mean good things for a jet that had been shot down the day before. The hatch opened to reveal Bobby beckoning everyone to the jet. "Hurry! The dam is going to collapse!"

The others wasted no time in sprinting to the jet, but once he was alone, Logan heard ragged breathing not too far away. His nose told him exactly who it was. The boy still in his arms, Logan drifted away from the jet and back into the woods until he saw Stryker, chained to a concrete wall with his feet dangling a foot above the ground. Well, that certainly proved that Magneto and Mystique had taken the helicopter.

Logan wasn't particularly surprised by that.

"Who has the answers, Wolverine?" Stryker asked harshly. No doubt he knew that this was his last chance to get out of this alive. "Those people? That _creature_ in your arms?"

Logan ground his teeth. Yes, he wanted answers. But were those answers worth abandoning the X-Men and saving Stryker? Would Stryker even tell him the truth, or would he feed Logan all kinds of bullshit until he found a way to escape? Something deep down told him that it wouldn't be the first time Stryker had done something like that.

Stryker had called him an animal. Logan knew that wasn't entirely a lie, or even an exaggeration. But he had a choice. Could he live with the animal that he was now, or did he want to be what he had been once upon a time, when he and Stryker had supposedly worked together?

Logan looked down at the boy in his arms, who didn't seem the least bit frightened of him, but rather clung to him for protection. The X-Men didn't care who or what he was, nor did they care who or what he had been. He'd proven, more than once, by character and actions that he belonged. Though it pained him that his past and his future were his only two options, Logan knew what he had to do.

He set the boy down and pulled his dog tag out from inside his uniform, ripping it off of his neck and throwing it at Stryker with a sneer. "I'll take my chances with them," he said, picking up the boy and heading back to the jet.

"One day, someone will finish what I've started, Wolverine," Stryker shouted. "One day sooner than you think!"

The boy in his arms leaned back and stuck his odd tongue out at Stryker as Logan got onto the jet. Logan felt a smirk tug at his lips. Now that he'd been allowed to make a choice, he felt like a weight had been lifted off of him.

At the ramp, Bobby was waiting for them and took the child out of Logan's arms. "I've got him," he said hurriedly.

Logan ran up to Jean, who was hovering closely over Scott and Ororo. She turned to Logan with a strange look of concern that he didn't recognize. In her weakened state, she was projecting some of her thoughts. She was wondering if Logan regretted choosing them over his memories. He tried thinking that he didn't regret it at all, but she didn't seem to hear him.

"You all right?" she asked.

He inhaled deeply to calm himself and Ororo's rainforest scent filtered into his lungs like a wonderful drug. "I am now," he said with a smirk, quickly running up to Storm and Scott, who seemed to be in distress. "What's wrong?"

"Everything," Ororo muttered darkly.

"Vertical thrusters are off-line," Scott snapped from the co-pilot's seat, pressing several different buttons in rapid succession.

"So fix them," Logan said, eying the dam distastefully.

"Do you think I'm just going to leave it?"

"Has anyone seen John?" Marie called out.

"Pyro?" Logan looked back, scanning the faces and not seeing the Australian teen. "Where the hell is he?"

"He's with Magneto," Jean said softly, giving Ororo and Lee a sympathetic look.

"The thrusters are functioning now," Ororo said briskly, "but I don't know how long they're going to last."

"I'm trying to override but it's not responding," Scott answered back. "Come _on_!"

"We lost power!" Ororo growled and hit several different buttons on her side faster than Logan's eyes could follow.

"There's power in the fuel cells, we're just not connecting!" Scott leaned over and hit a few of her switches as well as some of his own.

"The engine control system is shot. All of it!"

Logan gripped the back of Storm's chair tightly as he felt the ground shake. He tore his eyes away from the pilots and saw that the dam was finally starting to crumble.

"Is there an override?" Logan asked, trying to be helpful. He had no idea what the hell an override would help, but maybe they did.

"I _just_ said that the override wasn't responding," Scott snapped.

Storm growled again. "It's just going to take time."

"More than sixty seconds time?" Logan asked, pointedly ignoring Scott. "I'm not sure we have much more than that."

"We need some kind of _external_ power," Scott said.

"Jean?" the professor asked, and everyone fell absolutely silent.

"Wait!" Logan looked back and felt his heart freeze. Not a strand of red hair in sight. He smelled the air; no trace of her ginger or cinnamon scent. "Where's Jean?"

"Where's Jean?" Logan repeated.

"She's outside," Xavier said gravely.

Scott roughly pushed past Logan and run to the open hatch, Logan right behind him. The hatch flew up before Scott even reached it and when he tried to reopen it, it was firmly locked.

Logan heard the jet engines power up as Scott tossed Logan off of him with more strength than Logan ever would have given him credit for.

"Power is on," Ororo called.

"_NO_!" Scott shouted. "We're _not_ leaving! Lower the ramp!"

Logan looked back and saw that Ororo didn't have her hands on the control yoke, yet the jet was lifting off the ground. "Storm!" Scott cried desperately. _"Lower the ramp!"_

"I can't," she cried back. "She's controlling the jet."

Logan raced to the front of the jet to see Jean standing in front of a wall of water easily ten feet high. One arm was thrown out in front of her, providing a barrier for the water to go harmlessly around her and the jet. Her other arm was extending out towards the jet, as though struggling to lift it.

Logan turned to Kurt. "You! Get her out of there now!"

He shook his head, horror in his eyes. "I've tried! She's not letting me!"

Logan turned to Hawk. "What?" Logan knew she could control the four elements, so it was possible that she could control water.

"You control the four elements, right?"

"Uh..." she looked at Storm hesitantly. "Yeah."

"Can you try to stop the tidal wave?"

"Are you crazy?"

"Logan, no," Storm said, saving Hawk from having an explanation. "That mass is far too large for her to control."

"I know what I'm doing," Jean said quietly, as though in a trance. "This is the only way."

Logan turned around to find the source of her voice. His eyes rested on Xavier, sitting perfectly relaxed in his seat. His eyes were closed and he even wore a lazy smile. It certainly couldn't have been him speaking, and it only took a second for Logan to realize that Jean was speaking to them through Xavier.

How had she become so powerful? Six weeks ago she had admitted that she didn't have the strength to hold Logan steady in the air. Now she was lifting a jet, preventing billions of gallons of water from sweeping them away, and controlling Xavier's mind. All at once. That crack about meditation making her stronger had been bullshit. Something drastic had happened to her, and Logan had the sinking feeling that this was only a quick glimpse of the power she had inside her. It'd be the only glimpse they got if she didn't find a way to get herself back inside the jet.

But if she was capable of all of this, she could certainly save herself, couldn't she? She could lift herself off the ground and sit on top of the jet, entering from the top hatch. Or she could wrap herself in the invisible barrier she had up, shielding herself from the pressure and simply wait for the water to calm before swimming to the surface. She could save herself. She could save the child inside her.

Scott had pushed past Logan again and was kneeling in front of Xavier, at his wit's end. "Jean," he whispered shakily. "Listen to me. Don't do this."

Xavier whispered in Jean's voice. "Good-bye."

Logan stepped back, still refusing to believe that she would do this. "Oh, no! _No_!"

"_No! NO!_" Scott echoed, returning to the window to watch Jean. Logan, Scott and Ororo watched helplessly as Jean's movement seemed to become slower and more controlled. She began glowing orange and soon it looked as though she were fully engulfed in flames. Her power was vibrating in the air like a pulse, and even from such a distance, even through the thick walls of the jet, Logan's lungs burned with the scent of cinnamon.

XX

Hawk felt that same creepy sense from Jean again. It was stronger this time, though. What was going on here?

XX

As the jet climbed higher, the flames pulsing around her body became weaker, as did her scent. When it seemed that the jet was high enough above the water, Jean dropped her arms and her scent completely vanished. Before she disappeared, Logan felt a wave of relief hit him, and he knew instantly that it had come from Jean. She was tired, and relieved to have the water carry her away.

Logan stared numbly at the place she'd been standing only moments ago. "S-she's gone," he said weakly. "She's gone."

"Don't you say that!" Scott screeched, throwing himself at Logan and hitting him with everything he had. "We have to go back!"

"Scott, it's over," Hawk said. "At least I think it is," she added more quietly.

"She's gone," he said again, hardly bothering to defend himself against Scott's attack. "There's nothing to go back to."

That statement seemed to hit Scott like a ton of bricks. "No! We need to… we can…" Scott collapsed in Logan's arms, sobbing violently. "She's _not!_"

Logan fought back tears. Scott was breaking down, on the verge of hysteria; Xavier's mind was his own again and he sat, weeping silently; a few of the children in the back had begun to fearfully cry and Marie was sobbing in Bobby's arms. Lee sat perfectly still, glaring at the children around her. It was clear that she was determined not to cry, to be strong for everyone else. Despite the sacrifice she was making for them, none of them seemed to notice or care.

Storm was fighting too. Hawk was standing there, trying to comfort her. Although, unlike everyone else, she didn't look despaired, just sad. Logan couldn't even see a tear in her eye. Either she wasn't close to Jean, or she wasn't very emotional.

Logan had let Scott slump to the floor long ago. No amount of comforting would ever put his heart back together, and Logan knew that he was the last person Scott would look to for comfort. He climbed into the cockpit in the seat that Scott had vacated. Hawk moved out of the way to go back to her seat and Isis jumped into her lap.

"The lord is my shepherd," Kurt recited quietly. "I shall not want. He maketh me lie down in green pastures. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…"

Logan looked back at Storm. She was trying to keep herself calm, composed. Logan admired her for that, but still wondered why she wouldn't cry. This was her best friend for crying out loud.

_Logan, you really don't want to know. Trust me, you'll find out one of these days... if you stay that is._ Logan whipped around and saw Hawk staring at him. _Yeah, it's me. I'm not reading your deepest thoughts, just the surface ones. Storm has been my friend for the last seven years, and I don't like seeing her hurt._

Logan knew what that kind of loyalty was like. Storm looked behind her at Hawk. Hawk looked away, as if minding her own her own business. _I don't think Scott's comin' up for awhile._

Storm sighed, obviously receiving Hawk's message, then she flipped a couple of switches, and started to focus on her flying. It was then that Logan realized that, for the present, his life was bound with theirs. He reached his left hand out, and with a small smile full of delight and promise- and a touch of sadness- Storm took it, indicating that he should put his right one on the yoke.

Together, they pulled back on the sticks and sent the _Blackbird _soaring for the stars.

XX

Hawk saw the gesture Logan made toward Storm, and took out her phone. This was so going to be documented. Secretly, she had made a check-list of things Storm had been doing since the day Logan had arrived, and she made one for him to. So far, there wasn't much activity for Logan, but it looked like that was about to change.

_Click!_

Hawk gasped inwardly, and Storm and Logan turned to look at her. "What do you think Isis?" Hawk asked the wolf. "Want me to take another shot, or do you like that one of yourself?"

Hawk could tell Storm didn't believe her, but it was worth a shot.

_You are so busted, _Isis said.

_Ya think?_


End file.
